We design with the intention of using materials sparingly and well and have a particular focus on wood. One reason for this is that wood has a low 'embodied energy' relative to many other materials - particularly metals. Also, we select other materials such as varnish, fabric and leather with a view to minimising their environmental impact. In summary, we believe that this care leads to eco-friendly products and that we make a positive contribution but we do not claim to be environmental experts. If you have information that could help us improve on our environmental performance, we would be delighted to hear from you.
The wood for our special species Tasmanian veneers is usually sourced from Gunns Veneers. They operate under the Australian Forest Certification Scheme (AFS) (www.forestrystandard.org.au). The Australian Forest Certification Scheme is also a member of the international Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC) (www.pefc.org). Gunns (www.gunns.com.au) operate under the supervision of Forestry Tasmania which also certified by the Australian Forest Certification Scheme. Forestry Tasmania's report on its sustainability practices is available at: www.forestrytas.com.au/forestrytas/pages/sustainable.html
Hoop pine plywood, which we often use as the core for the feature veneers, has long been sourced from plantations.
Where possible, the foam for upholstery cushions is 100% natural latex and it is glued to the plywood upholstery shell using latex glue. The foam we use on the Stave Stools is latex as we have been able to organise moldings to suit. The nature and positioning of the curing holes makes it difficult to arrange latex foam for all of our products. The Reef Chairs, Natural Inspirations Chairs and Locus Chairs still use Dunlop Enduro Foam.
The wood surface treatment we use is a varnish based on natural ingredients and supplied by Bio Products Australia (www.bioproducts.com.au). Using varnish rather than an oil enables the surface to be far more water and oil resitant compared with wood oils. This means that, over time, your furniture will not be subject to discolouration in areas that are handled a lot or subject to liquid spills.
The wool fabric we use is derived from farms with organic practices and where the manufacturing processes are delierately designed to create a minimal environmental impact. The link to LIFE Textiles - developed by Instyle is: http://www.instylecontracttextiles.com/sustainable.html You will also be able to click through to their sustainability report. Not only does the fabric have sound environmental credentials but the design and colours of the Planet range, that we carry as stock, are fantastic. You may wish to buy extra fabric - maybe in an alternative colour - to use elsewhere in your home or office. You will not be the first to do so and you can order at any time! We carefully fold the fabric and put it in a postal box so that it doesn't get crushed. This way we avoid having to use courier services to deliver long tubes.
The leather we use is the premium semi-aniline Elmosoft from Elmo leather in Sweden. The link to their environment page in english is: http://www.elmoleather.com/frameset.asp?baseUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eelmoleather%2Ecom%2Fbase%2Easp You will be able to click to other parts of their website including their product specifications and certifications. We use the Elmosoft without any embossing and so that the wonderful natural patina and variation of the 'real thing' is retained. The result is natural beauty that is soft, easy to clean and highly durable.
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