Sustainable Upholstery
Sustainable and eco-friendly upholstery, does it exist and what does it look like?
PART 1-ECO-FRIENDLY TEXTILES
It is no secret that here at dumped & ditched we are passionate about sustainability. As more and more companies are shifting the focus to becoming eco-friendlier, more options for sustainable materials are becoming available.
Late last year the ABC ran a story about the vast amount of second-hand clothing from developed countries that are causing an “environmental disaster” on the other side of the planet. Standard consumer donations from ‘de-cluttering’ sessions more often end up as landfill as so much of what we call ‘donations’ are simply no longer useable. And as for all those textiles not suitable to be stocked in second-hands shops? In 2019, the ABC reported that Australians were sending an estimated “6 tonnes of clothing to landfill every 10 minutes”. Let’s assume that number has not decreased all that much, if at all. The short life cycle of consumer products and the ‘replace’ attitude is causing an environmental disaster. Demand has seen the use of cheap, synthetic materials skyrocket. In recent years consumer awareness around the use and effect of harmful chemicals on health and environment has led to a flourishment of the terms ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘sustainable’.
The key to thinking about what’s called circular sustainability is to swap ‘new’ with ‘restored’, ‘upcycled’, ‘recycled’ and all the other ‘cycles’ that consider durability and impact every step of the way without compromising on quality and aesthetics. Put simply, it’s about playing ‘the long game’. It’s changing our thinking about possessions and purchases as ‘one-off’ spending to long-term investments.
TEXTILE RECYCLING
A key to making textiles more sustainable is to find ways of breaking down old materials to create ‘new’ ones, as well as ways to use less of nature’s most precious resources. Natural materials such as cotton, linen and wool use a lot of natural resources like water and land in their production. Such textiles can be recycled and broken down and processed into new yarn which in turn can be weaved into upcycled fabric. These recycled textiles have shorter and less refined fibres compared to ‘virgin’ fibres.
As well as creating ‘new’ textiles from old ones, by-products and various waste can be upcycled into new materials. Olefin, a polypropylene fibre, is by-product that comes from refining petroleum. It used to be either be burned off or discarded, and as such it has the smallest carbon footprint of all upholstery textiles because it was formerly waste.
TEXTILE DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY
As you likely already know, you do not need to compromise on aesthetics to be more environmentally friendly. While this may have been the case before, these days gorgeous designs often to hand in hand with sustainable thinking and manufacturing.
KVADRAT
Since 2013 Danish textile company Kvadrat has been part of the “United Nations Global Compact: the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative”. Dedicated to sustainable, circular design and production, Kvadrat makes textiles recycled from plastic waste bottles and re-purposed wool. Explaining their circular line of thought, they write;
“Durability is another key criterion for us as we in the respect of resource availability seek to make long-lasting products that creates value in people’s lives and create aesthetic spaces for decades. The longer our products are utilized, the less average impact per year in its life cycle.”[4]
‘Revive’ collection by Georgina Wright for Kvadrat. Image from Kvadrat.dk
Kvadrat’s ‘Revive’ textile collection is made from post-consumer recycled polyester (PET), or in other words, plastic water bottles, and was especially designed to reduce the environmental impact of waste and use of natural resources. And if you think recycled means less choice, think again. ‘Revive’ comes in 25 colourways and is a ‘attractive, durable and tactile upholstery fabric.’[5] Kvadrat produces several collections that come with a eco-friendly tag.
Partly owned by Kvadrat, the relatively new company Really works to create materials that are made from end-of-life-textiles and come from waste and leftovers from the textile industry. Really products are manufactured without the use of dyes, toxic chemicals or water, and can be taken back (by agreement), recycled into new products and returned to client.
CAMIRA
Camira, a UK based textile company, also makes several upholstery textiles that are made from recycled waste. With 20 years of experience designing and manufacturing recycled textiles and several awards for sustainable innovation and development, the Made by Camira label comes with a guaranteed environmental ethos. From sending 340 tonnes of landfill in 2009 to virtually 0% landfill in 2014, by 2015 61% percent of Camira’s products made at their UK main was manufactured from natural or recycled materials.
KIRBY DESIGN
Kirby Design manufactures many products that are fully recyclable and/or that incorporates recycled and sustainable yarns. Their Sustainable Collection compromises four smaller collections, Fleck eco, Wave, Leaf II and Flow, that are made “entirely of environmentally conscious, sustainable materials such as 100% PET recycled polyester from waste plastic bottles, recycled wool, recycled acrylic and Tencel lyocell. Each fabric is fully recyclable, meaning they can be repurposed for future use and are therefore ‘circular’ in nature.”[6]
INK & SPINDLE
Ink & Spindle –Located in Melbourne, Ink & Spindle produces hand-printed textiles on ethically sourced fabrics like organic cotton/hemp and eco-linen using GOTS and Oeko-Tex certificated inks. Dedicated to sustainable practices, Ink & Spindle’s designs are inspired by the Australian landscape featuring native flora and fauna in muted earth tones.
Samples of Ink & Spindle ©dumped & ditched
Eco-friendly textile Certifications
It’s thankfully becoming easier for consumers to make informed, sustainable choices. There are several indexes and certifications to guide the way that promise high, eco-friendly standards. But with all the various certificates, logos and labels, it can be hard to know exactly what it all means and what separates one from the other.
THE HIGG INDEX – was started by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and scores and ranks fibres according to how environmentally friendly they are, and reports on the impact from the materials used. Though likely highly useful for businesses and corporations, it is not the most user-friendly overview for people wanting to do their own research.
GOTS CERTIFICATION – Global Organic Textile Standard’s aim is “to define requirements to ensure organic status of textiles, from harvesting of the raw materials, through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing up to labelling in order to provide a credible assurance to the end consumer.”[1]
GOTS certification is extensive, as their website states; “Only textile products that contain a minimum of 70% organic fibers can become GOTS certified. All chemical inputs such as dyestuffs and auxiliaries used must meet certain environmental and toxicological criteria. The choice of accessories is limited in accordance with ecological aspects as well. A functional waste water treatment plant is mandatory for any wet-processing unit involved and all processors must comply with minimum social criteria.”[2]
REACH COMPLIANCE- REACH is a EU regulation of Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals. REACH applies to all chemical substances and companies must register and manage the risk of the materials they use. “By identifying the dangers and managing the risks, REACH aims to provide a high level of protection of human health and the environment through controlling and monitoring the use of chemicals. REACH is an evolving regulation with regular developments to restrict new chemicals that have a negative impact on human health or the environment.” [3]
GREENGUARD CERTIFICATION – If a product has a Greenguard certification it means that it has been scientifically tested to have ‘low chemical emmisions’ and meets strict guidelines for healthy indoor environments. Greenguard warrants that your furniture has low toxicity and won’t release harmful chemicals into your home.
These are only a handful of the various certifications you may come across that work to ensure a more sustainable production of textiles. For a more extensive guide, have a read of ‘The Treehugger Guide to Sustainable Certifications’ published last year.
[1] https://ota.com/advocacy/organic-standards/fiber-and-textiles/global-organic-textile-standard-gots
[2] ibid
[3] https://www.kirkbydesign.com/environmental
[5] https://www.kvadrat.dk/en/about/sustainability-strategy
Images:@ Dida Sundet Photography