As if fast fashion wasn't enough
We are sitting on this another 'fast' trend
We are talking about ‘Fast Furniture’
9 million tons of furniture are tossed every single year. That’s roughly 5% of everything brought to landfills
We have built a culture where it is easy to throw and replace than repair and reuse.
A broken chair leg or a wobbly table or just need a bigger workstation? Simple!
Just toss the old one and get a new one.
This has not only created the waste problem but we are also dealing with an increase in toxic substances.
Cheap adhesives and chemicals are used in the furniture which is toxic for humans and the planet.
Synthetic fibres used in our chairs and sofa sets are hazardous as well.
So this week, I’ve focused on 3 startups that are inculcating sustainability into our homes.
Who doesn’t love the smell of paints?… I do. But these traditional paints that are used in our houses contain Volatile Organic Compounds(VOCs). Benzene is a popular example of VOCs. It can cause short-term health problems like headaches, dizziness and itchy eyes. And it’s a carcinogen. High amounts of benzene exposure can be dangerous in the long term. The vulnerable group- pregnant women, young children and the elderly are more at risk. It can even cause low birth weight or learning disabilities for newborns.
Eco-friendly decoration…UK-based direct-to-consumer startup Lick is transforming how people decorate the walls of their homes- via its range of eco-friendly, washable & environmentally responsible paints and wallpapers. To achieve that, they work with a team of British chemists, who’ve been manufacturing eco-friendly paint long before anyone wanted to buy it.
Their durable and washable paints are water-based and have low VOC- fewer harmful chemicals and are easily biodegradable.
None of the paints are tested on animals and they are 100% vegan.
Per tin of paint sold, Lick cleans up 18g of plastic from the oceans.
Good for walls, good for the planet…Their wallpapers are sustainably sourced and they plant a tree for each roll sold. Their proprietary peel-and-stick samples let homeowners easily choose colours and see how those colours will look in their homes, without creating any wastage. They use unbleached and unprocessed packaging boxes that are 100% biodegradable.
Where does it end?… Unsustainable or illegal logging of wood is followed by energy-intensive activities like shipping, milling and production of furniture. Then we use chemicals, plastics and foams to produce the fast furniture of today. In the US, just 20% of it is recycled every year and the rest ends up in the landfills or being incinerated. The mix of chemicals and plastics makes it difficult to recycle them. Also, our throwaway culture ensures that it’s not resold or donated.
Sustainability can be stylish too…In the US, another direct-to-consumer brand Sabai (comfortable or cozy in Thai) is incorporating sustainability into affordable and stylish furniture. They use upcycled, recycled or natural materials to reduce their impact on the planet. Their sofas are designed in a way so that customers can replace the damaged parts instead of replacing the entire set.
Their recycled materials such as velvet are made from 100% recycled water bottles.
Instead of using chemicals, they use water-based glues with zero VOCs.
They use FSC certified wood frames, Certipur certified foam and their pillows are made from recycled fibre.
The Sabai Standard…The brand is creating a circular life cycle for its products by buying back the old products from the consumers. They buy back their products at up to 20% of the resale price in credit or 15% in cash. These products are then resold in their pre-owned section, Sabai Revive. This extends the life of the furniture and keeps them out of landfills- making them financially and ecologically beneficial.
Did you know?… A large number of chemicals are used to manufacture white paper. These chemicals provide a smooth texture and white colour to the paper. In contrast, handmade paper is usually made through cotton lintel and no toxic chemicals are used in this process. In India though, handmade paper is made using cotton rag waste from the garment industry, which generates tonnes of cotton rag waste every month. This prevents this waste from ending up in landfills.
Way back in 1998… Jenny Pinto had established a handmade paper studio in Bengaluru, India, which was the first in the city. At that time, she was selling paper lights under Jenny Pinto’s light. Fast forward 20 years, she partnered with Radeesh Shetty from The Purple Turtles and founded Oorjaa- a design firm creating sustainable lighting from upcycled materials like paper, cork and banana fibre.
All of their products are made from waste and can be recycled.
Their paper is procured from agricultural waste, their wabi-sabi range is from quarry waste, and they also use waste cork.
From cleaning and moulding to sculpting, a lot of the process is handcrafted and it can take a lamp up to 7 days to be manufactured.
Doing their part…Handcrafting also ensures that minimal energy is used. As papermaking uses a lot of water, their studio is a green building where they harvest rainwater and recycle water. Oorjaa also makes an effort to minimize the use of plastic and thermocol in its packaging.
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