Like fashion, many furniture companies also specialize in fast furniture to make styles affordable to the public. Almost as soon as new high-end designs trend, many companies make lookalikes that they can retail quickly to their customers. It is also generally more affordable albeit as the affordability is directly influenced by the use of substandard materials in their manufacture.
Due to the compromised quality, those furniture pieces typically do not last for long meaning that they break down and have to be replaced. Also, the poor quality of materials used in their manufacture prevents such furniture from being properly recycled or upcycled thus filling up landfills and adding to environmental damage.
On the other hand, certain designers and furniture companies are beginning to design for the future and that means being eco-conscious and designing with sustainability in mind. Sustainable and eco-friendly furniture lasts longer making it a better financial choice but their longevity and ease of recycling also reduces waste going into landfills and damaging the environment.
Take a look at three of IDC Home’s furniture designers making use of sustainable processes and products in the manufacture of their furniture and accessories.
Royal Botania is committed to giving more to the planet than it consumes through its sustainable production methods. In 2011, they set up Green Forest Plantation Co. and created a teak plantation of approximately 500 acres. The goal is to eventually source their production materials from this plantation as the trees begin to mature, in several years.
Royal Botania chose Teak because of its stability and resistance to natural elements. For Royal Botania, each design exhibits three main elements: aesthetics, ergonomics and engineering. Royal Botania is able to produce finely crafted outdoor furniture with reduced environmental impact, through a sustainability model that is unique to small business practice.
Indera makes quality bespoke sofas and other accessories. With carefully sourced fabric, wood, and frames, every aspect of the sofas are designed with quality and longevity in mind. Indera prides itself in the cradle to cradle model which means that every aspect of a piece of furniture can be recycled for use at the end of its life.
As Belgians live very close together, their goal is to return the furniture and reuse all the materials again. Indera was the first sofa manufacturer in Belgium to do that with its Sintesse Eco line. When the sofa is old, every portion of the sofa can be salvaged and put back into production.
Mirabel Slabbinck invests in technological growth and eco-friendly production methods in many ways. Very notably, they have a ‘produce to order’ business model which means that they do not have excess stock that has to be turned to waste subsequently. Also, 95% of their electricity consumption is generated by solar panels.They also use recycled water during production and use minimal packaging materials to limit their use of plastic.
By doing this, they minimise their environmental impact and focus on sustainable production and consumption of materials.
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