DE S IGN CENTRE
Bulmer Natural Paints (available from Tissus d’Hélène) which go well beyond the standard promises of water- based, low-VOC products, using only plant-based materials and labelling all ingredients on the tin. Simone Suss has influenced industry-wide change by
sitting on the BIID’s Professional Practice Committee and helping put its sustainability strategy in place. In autumn 2021 the BIID launched the Sustainable Specifying Guide. It covers everything from the best countries for animal welfare for wool, to which fabrics use more water to grow, breaking down into bite-size pieces what can be a daunting subject. A lot of the BIID’s guide is given over to the questions
that designers should be asking their suppliers, so that they can make good choices. Are suppliers ready for those questions, though? “Some will have the information; others might give you a month’s silence while they go off and ask head office,” is the assessment of Winch Design’s Alex Parkinson, the studio’s in- house sustainability specialist. Both Parkinson and Suss say that lack of transparency, and not enough information on standard labelling, is a barrier to them making informed decisions. Parkinson was Winch’s office manager before lockdown gave her time on her hands, which was wisely spent contacting suppliers and asking them to answer a standard sustainability question- naire (sourced from Planet Mark), along with some follow- up questions. This is all fed into a spreadsheet, with a score for various categories – from carbon footprint to traceability and recyclability at end of life – so that products could be compared. Off the back of this, Winch Design developed two concept yacht schemes that show what a completely sustainable interior might look like, featuring next-generation materials like palm leather and Piñatex, made from pineapple leaves. Labelling is improving to include elements such as
the country of origin of both the raw materials and the manufacturing, so that a product’s carbon footprint can be better ascertained. New showroom Visionnaire recently introduced a sample book called Re-Generation that contains all its eco-friendly fabrics in one place, with details about the composition, cultivation systems and the raw materials’ traceability. Designers are looking to work with suppliers that
have a publicly available sustainability strategy in place, like Porta Romana. “Our statement is centred around three themes,” explained the company’s managing director Ali Milam at a Conversations in Design talk about the subject at Focus/21. “The product itself, so, explorations into different materials and
techniques; extending the life of our products through our upcycling club and part-exchange programme; and everything that sits around the products, from transportation to waste.” A recent decision to bring lampshade-making in-house has saved Porta Romana 30,000 miles annually and “now that we control the making, we can control the waste as well – the fabric is made into smaller shades, or swatches, or if it’s recycled we can follow that process,” says Milam. Parkinson knows that a large prestigious firm like
“FOR EVERY BUYING DECISION, THERE
Winch can flex its buying power: “If we start asking [suppliers], they will start asking their own supply chain. I feel like we have the power to say, I can invite you in to showcase your pieces – if you’ve filled in the sustainability form.” And even if she says that labelling and transparency have a long way to go, she has good words to say about some of the showrooms at the Design Centre: “Kvadrat are really good – we’ve been using a lot of their ‘Waterborn’ faux suede in our projects – as are de Le Cuona. A lot of suppliers are using Econyl at the moment, which is a great story for us as it’s durable, cleanable and made with waste plastic from the ocean.” A great story is more important
IS A SUSTAINABLE CHOICE. YOU DON’T NECESSARILY NEED TO BE COMPROMISING ON AESTHETIC OR FUNCTION, OR ANYTHING ELSE”
than you might think. Designers are finding ways to communicate with the clients for whom sustainability isn’t a priority – talking about ‘innovative’ or ‘rare’ materials may tap into their desires much better than talking about ‘sustainable’ ones. Parkinson says what they need most are the compelling stories that underpin many collections but that don’t always surface
until you ask. “It’s the storyline behind a material that excites a client. Some suppliers will send a PDF or a video showing how and where something is made, and that is the unique selling point we look for; people need that emotional connection.” Thankfully there are no shortage of great stories
behind the products within the showrooms. Recently, there’s been Porta Romana’s ‘Mushroom’ family of lighting, inspired by the shape of oyster mushrooms and made from 3D-printed PLA (poly lactic acid), derived from cornstarch; and Topfloor by Esti’s rugs made from abacá, a species of banana that’s been identified by the UN as a ‘future fabric’. Suss’s advice to other designers is not to get
overwhelmed by the subject of sustainability, but to simply make a start, and think about how they can use their influence: “It’s a journey more than a destination. We spend millions of pounds of clients’ money and we need to be putting it towards things that are good for the planet. We’ll vote with our feet, essentially.”
OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: As part of its sustainability strategy, Porta Romana is exploring new materials, such as the 3D-printed cornstarch used for its ‘Mushroom’ lights; Topfloor by Esti’s ‘Switch’ rug made from abacá, a species of banana identified as a ‘future fibre’; the Natecru collection by Pierre Frey includes fabrics made from recycled cashmere, organic cotton and locally produced wools and linens
- 5 4 -
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
