As business owner, designer and manufacturer, you have an incredible amount of impact on this environment within every aspect of your company. You are a producer of product and with this, your responsibility is great! You not only have to dissect your products completely, but you also have to evaluate your business practices, strategies, manufacturing processes and designs. I know this sounds incredibly daunting… but below are some great starting points to get your company on board.
1. Audit - First and foremost… Start with an overall Audit of your office and how it operates. A fantastic way to get started is to get your company Green Business Certified. The first step is to check out the website, http://www.gbcertified.com/home09.asp, and contact the Institute for Green Business Certification. A consultant will work with your business to define key areas and specific guidelines in categories such as recycling, water conservation, energy conservation, waste reduction and "environmentally friendly" purchasing. This is an excellent way to green and clean your office and begin the next phase of your goal.
2. Employees- Happy employees, successful business. The GBC (Green Business Certification) will speak a bit more about benefits for your employees; however, there are many items that are not addressed in regards to employee benefits and fair work environments. This includes Fair Wages and Benefits, Fair Labor Conditions and working hours and encouragement of Community Development.
3. Triple Bottom Line- Making changes to your business is time consuming and can sometimes be expensive. However, the long term pay off will benefit your company in the long run. Understanding how to make these changes to balance the environment, economy and equity is key in a successful business (triple bottom line). Take a second to read the article below: http://www.mcdonough.com/writings/design_for_triple.htm
4. Product Life Cycle Analysis- An overall life cycle analysis is quite overwhelming, however, take one of your products (such as an upholstered piece) and take time to provide one lifecycle analysis of every element that goes into this product (wood frame, springs, foam, batting, upholstery). As intense this process is, what this process will do is provide a complete understanding of the pieces and parts of a product and really what resources are being used in the production of this piece. After evaluating the process of this one piece, use this mind set to dissect your other products. This analysis will now be your starting point for change.
How to begin your analysis….
There are many tools out there to help you analyze your products, however, here are some questions to ask yourself to begin your research.
Let’s take an upholstered product as an example…
- Where does your product come from?
- Is the wood used for this product third party certified- (FSC)
- If not, how is it farmed or logged?
- How does this affect the community/ecosystem?
- Does the company participate in reforestation efforts?
- If you use MDF or Particle board, is it formaldehyde free?
- If product is reclaimed where does it come from?
- What finishes, paints or adhesives are used on your piece? Are they low-no voc? Natural finishes?
- Where do the springs come from? Are they made of recycled content?
- What type of batting/fillers/webbing/backings and foam are used? Are they plant based or synthetics?
- What are the fabrics used?
- Are any materials in the manufacturing recycled or reused? Where do the by products go?
- How efficient is your manufacturing process in terms of electricity and water? Are you able to recycle any of your waste water or treat it and send it back to the ecosystem as clean as it came in?
- Are there recycling processes set up at the manufacturing plant?
- Does your product off gas or emit toxins?
- Would you consider getting your product GreenGuard Certified http://www.greenguard.org/?
- How is the product packaged and shipped?
- At the end of this products life, is there any reclamation program set in place?
- Can you disassemble the product to repurpose for another product of equal value?
5. Ayayaya!! Now what??- I know I know… so much to think about! But, understand that these changes will come and working toward a goal will motivate and keep you going. Now that you have an understanding of the business aspects of going sustainable and the overall evaluation of a product, making incremental changes can go a long way.
Let’s now make a list of what your products SHOULD look like… We will use an upholstered piece again as an example.
- Obviously, reclaimed is always the best option in terms of wood selection. However, when product is not made of reclaimed wood, all wood should be locally harvested, third party certified (such as FSC). Stay away for all exotics or threatened wood species!
- Particle board or MDF that is formaldehyde free with a high percentage of recycled wood and/or third party certified.
- Formaldehyde free, Low VOC/waterbased finishes for stains, adhesives, binders, sealants.
- Stains and Finishes made from oils, resins, pigments and waxes - solvent free.
- Batting, Filler - Use natural sources- specifically obtained by organic and humane resources- no added finishes or coatings.
- Foams- Use 100% natural latex (make absolutely sure that this product is 100% natural). Avoid synthetic at all costs!
- Webbings, Backing- Use all natural plant or animal textiles. Avoid synthetics.
- Fabrics- Specify fabrics from OECO Textiles!! These two ladies have an incredible amount of knowledge and have beautiful textiles. The issue of textiles is so completely intense that needs its own article… take a look at this article to learn a bit more http://www.furnicology.com/news/46-featured-designers/105-textile-cetifications.
- Metals- Metals use a high embodied amount of energy to produce and are not considered a “renewable resource”. However, metal can be recycled over and over again. Use metals with a high amount of recycled content or recycled from another product (or byproduct). Avoid metal plating which is both dangerous to the environment and your workers. Powder coating off gases less. Apply oil finishes in factory and be sure to allow them to off gas in a controlled area, not affecting factory workers.
6. Marketing- This is the fun part. Once you are able to get you business, products and processes up to sustainability par, you should be promoting your responsible process! FSC certifications should be available on your website in addition to a list of your sustainable attributes- whether it is low voc finishes, packing options, wood specie selection etc. Make it known that you are working to make your products better for all.
7. Give Back!- There are some incredible programs out there for business to give back. Another aspect of sustainability is enhancing community and others! Take a look at programs such as 1% for the planet… http://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/en/
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