PRODUCT FEATURE | Sustainable kitchens
Omega Super Matt Jet with Walnut - featuring 100% recycled doors
Franke’s Active Tap range features an ECO Cartridge that offers 50% or 100% water flow
Sheffield Sustainable Kitchen’s cabinets are manufactured
from a special eco board made from 100% recycled timber
with the ethos centring around protecting the natural environment – “saving trees by recovering and recycling waste wood to craft beautifully unique decors that have less impact on the environment”, managing director Paul Jenkinson says. And these are just a few sustainability stories out of many. German supplier Rotpunkt offers its BioBoard, Daval uses FSC-certified wood. These credentials will come to be as much in demand as A-rated appliances are today. There are also companies like The Used Kitchen Company and Used Kitchen Exchange that work with retailers and consumers to help them recycle their old and ex-display kitchens. Working with these brands not only means that you’re supporting environmental strategies like the Circular Economy, it’s also a way of making money on products that would otherwise just have been thrown away. Where worktops and surfaces are concerned, the materials used and where they are sourced is just as important as with furniture – because again, the benefits of the
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Retailers who put planet before profit, benefit from an improved reputation and in turn attract more customers who appreciate their sustainability values
Zoe Hepworth, marketing manager, Sheffield Sustainable Kitchens
sustainability might not be immediately apparent. You can sell the idea that composites are more practical, more durable, and easier to look after than naturally occurring materials like granite and marble – (which are obviously way more expensive as well). You can also tell the story of where these materials are sourced, as recycled or waste raw material can play a significant part in
the
construction – broken glass bottles, different fragments of stone, and sand are all
composites offered by the likes of Caesarstone and Cosentino.
Lifetime
A major selling point is that these worktops are also designed to last a lifetime, and longevity is of course, a crucial part of the sustainability story. Finally, we asked our contributors whether manufacturers should be doing more to highlight the sustainable credentials of certain products, and what tools they should be offering to help their retailers more effectively sell
and educate customers on
included
in the mix of these quartz
sustainable products. To the first question, the short answer is ‘yes’. Our contributors agreed that communication on this issue needs to be clearer and more concise, that manufacturers need to ensure they explicitly state their eco-credentials to make choosing sustainable products as easy as possible. This will mean offering plenty of marketing material to their retailers and educating them well, so that they in turn can educate the end consumer. In terms of communication on the part of manufacturers, Sheffield Sustainable Kitchen’s Hepworth says that absolutely, the industry needs to do more, “but not only this. On a B2B level, the entire production cycle would benefit from a collaborative approach to educating consumers about the sustainability benefits of products. “From the manufacturing point of
view, creating literature that clearly defines the sustainability credentials of products would help retailers seamlessly incorporate the same within their end-user marketing messages.” Symphony’s Collyns adds: “The values and ethical behaviours of manufacturers and retailers play an increasingly vital role in the customer’s
decision-making process when buying goods for the home.
“Customers want more commitment to sustainability from retailers so that they can consume better and less. Retailers who put planet before profit, benefit from an improved reputation and in turn attract more customers who appreciate their sustainability values.
increase
This the
ultimately amount
helps of to money
sustainable businesses earn.” Finally, in terms of tools brands offer to help their retailers more effectively sell, most of our contributors who offer furniture noted the importance of showing the FSC-Certification. “We do this to ensure we are consistent with our messaging across POS, packaging, and other marketing materials,” Moores design manager Neil McDonald says. “We also provide factory tours for our customers where they can learn about our sustainable manufacturing achievements.”
Dedicated training is also offered by
most manufacturers so there is no reason why retailers should be ill-educated about the products on offer and their benefits. Retailers need to all get on board too, to ensure they’re in the very best position.
• April 2023
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