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FOCUS | Sustainability


Designs FOR LIFE


In our major focus on sustainability we bring you the latest ‘green’ innovations  out what manufacturers are doing to improve their eco credentials. Francesca Seden reports


accepted, and products and services that promote these ideals are no longer niche and becoming the expected norm. In the KBB industry, this started with appliances, trickled through to products that use water and now companies across every element of the market – from furniture, to sinks and basins, baths, worktops, fl ooring and tiles – are striving to make their manufacturing processes more effi cient and their products more environmentally-friendly.


T Apart from the environmental


benefi ts, and the fact that businesses are being compelled by law to make their practices more sustainable in order to bring down CO2 levels, manufacturers and retailers are fi nding that it makes more economic sense too. It can reduce running costs and potentially lower material costs, because less is used in production. Retailers are providing more


36


he ideas of sustainability and eco-effi ciency have become increasingly


sustainable alternatives in a number of ways – offering second-hand or recycled kitchens, such as the Used Kitchen Company, The Used Kitchen Exchange and Decorland in Kirkcaldy, or by offering kitchens made from sustainably-sourced raw and recycled materials like Sustainable Kitchens, The Main Company, Zero Kitchens and Elk Kitchens.


Some of these are going further still,


and trying to completely reimagine the kitchen so that far less material is used in production.


Eco alternatives


For Elk Kitchens, sustainability was the starting point of the company’s journey into kitchen design and has continued to guide its decisions as it grows. “Our philosophy is simple,” explains managing director George Gardner. “Minimise the amount of material used and eliminate waste. At Elk, we have spent years in the research and development of kitchen furniture that is light on the planet and uses less than 50% of the materials of a conventional


kitchen. It’s self-evident that using less material, producing less waste and upcycling this to make useful, beautiful things leaves more of the world’s resources for future generations. It’s as much conservation as it is manufacturing and it starts with design. “We like to quote Frank Lloyd Wright, who said, ‘the best friend on earth of man is the tree. When we use the tree respectfully and economically, we have one of the greatest resources on earth’. We couldn’t put it better.” For Zero Kitchens, sustainability is at


the very heart of the company’s ethos. “It became apparent that people pay more attention to what goes into the fabric of their new homes than what they actually put inside them, which


can have a negative, long-term health effect and affect overall well-being,” says managing director Tim Burgess. “We also wanted to create something that did little or no damage to our environment, so no trees are felled in the manufacture of our furniture, which is good for the planet, too.


“Another element from our industry was watching kitchens being replaced so quickly when people move into a new home and seeing functional kitchens being replaced by new owners began to feel so wrong. Companies that sell second-hand kitchens are becoming more popular. But not everyone wants a second- hand kitchen, which is understandable. “Being able to offer something that


There is no doubt that environmentalism is emerging as one of the ‘big four’, and is up there with


price point, quality and aesthetics George Gardner, managing director, Elk Kitchens


· May 2020


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