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Sustainable furniture design and manufacturing is not
available only to a select few organizations with large R & D budgets. In
fact, when a few incorrect notions are dispelled—such as “my company is too
small” or “sustainable design is too expensive”—and an open dialogue begins,
quite the opposite is true. Moving toward a more sustainable business model is
a matter of, well, moving strategically. But this is, of course,
oversimplifying a very complex subject. As you will see, you don’t need to be a
Fortune 500 or have a large budget to begin to integrate sustainable design
methodologies and manufacturing processes into your organization.
For Animavi, a sustainable furniture design and manufacturing firm located in Venice, Calif., sustainability was the thread that knit the company’s business goals together and helped it launch its eco-modernist line of products in spring 2008. Animavi began its journey toward sustainability with a singular goal of designing and manufacturing furniture that married modern design with sustainability. This philosophy of “sustainable design equals good design” has acted as a “green compass” that has enabled a very holistic view of Animavi’s products’ environmental impact from material origin/sourcing to end-of-life management issues. In mapping out its start-up strategy, a few key components emerged as essential to the company’s mission.
Design for longevity: At the core is authentic design intended to last lifetimes. This notion was at the center of the design program for Animavi’s first collection and will be a consistent element in future collections. The design of Animavi’s pieces is both timeless in appeal and robust in construction to truly weather both residential and commercial applications. Animavi was not inclined to produce pieces that added to the “throw away” mentality found in so many contemporary consumer goods. Good design ensures it’s far less likely that Animavi pieces will ever end up in a landfill.
Transparency: These enlightened capitalists understood that decisions made early on would have lasting effects on the strength of their brand and the vehicles they chose to communicate their sustainability goals. Transparency of their successes as well as their challenges needed to become part of their brand story, because as designers and specifiers they understood the need to differentiate themselves from the “greenwashers.” There is no magic bullet here; to be a change agent, information must be shared. True sustainable methodologies require open, honest dialogue to arrive at solutions that many can use. This promise of eco-intelligence is found not only in the sustainable attributes of its products raw materials and manufacturing partners’ processes, but is also evident throughout the communication of its products’ eco-profile.
Sustainable materials research: This is critical. Animavi aligned itself with like-minded material manufacturers that had stringent environmental policies in place, such as 3-form www.3-form.com, a resin manufacturer located in Salt Lake City, Utah, who has a reclamation program for its product demonstrating responsibility for end-of-life management. Smith & Fong, the manufacturers of Plyboo Bamboo www.plyboo.com is another philosophically compatible material manufacturer whose environmental and social equitability initiatives led the company to become the first bamboo flooring and plywood manufacturer on the planet to receive FSC certification.
To truly understand a material’s story, questions must be raised beyond the basics of durability, price and maintenance. Where does the material come from? What are working conditions like for employees? How far does it have to travel if not made domestically? Is the manufacturing facility ISO-certified, and if not, what are the environmental initiatives of the manufacturer? Does the company work with recyclers to upcycle its waste into new product? Does it have reclamation programs in place to alleviate landfill-bound materials? What are its overall environmental stewardship initiatives?
Third-party certification: This is critical for any product’s environmental claims to be substantiated and assist in moving from first party, anecdotal information to measured and verified third-party certification. There are a multitude of voluntary certifications available to manufacturers: from non-profit organizations such as Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) www.scscertified.com that measure VOC emissions and recycled content, to the recently announced Sustainability Certification for Furniture (based on BIFMA’s Sustainability Standard), to proprietary protocols that use a lifecycle assessment approach such as MBDC’s Cradle to Cradle Certification www.mbdc.com. These are not inexpensive processes; understanding which certification systems are in line with an organization’s sustainability goals is paramount. How do you determine which testing protocol is right? Research is critical to appropriately align which certification system fits within an organization’s sustainability goals. Animavi is in its final analysis of determining which system suits its current and future environmental initiatives.
Supply chain partners: Animavi believes in mentorship and the sharing of information. Only through integrated design and supply chain partnerships was the company able to move quickly to have a positive impact on the design and manufacturing of its furniture. The goal of keeping manufacturing close to its office in Venice was not an easy task, but having its furniture manufactured in the greater Los Angeles area was critical to sustainability goals. As fabrication partnerships began, Animavi was very direct and clear regarding its desire to align with entities that understood the importance of sustainability and possessed a willingness to try new practices and new materials—to truly partner to improve one another’s practices.
Participation/membership in trade organizations: Being a part of an industry organization enables peer discussion. As members of the Sustainable Furniture Council www.sustainablefurniturecouncil.com, Animavi has a vehicle to communicate and share best practices in an open forum. Through alignment with like-minded organizations pursuing a sustainable business model, new ideas and innovative solutions can be shared—pushing change to make market transformation a reality.
Packaging: This is one of the more challenging areas to date. Animavi’s goal to eliminate packaging altogether was difficult due to the pragmatics of shipping and potential for damage required some type of packaging. After looking into alternatives from high post-consumer-content corrugated to blanket wrapping, the company decided to create its own fabric covers made of organic cotton, which featured the dual benefits of transportation protection and outdoor cover when needed. This design solution has eliminated the need for any traditional packaging at all and can be reused over and over.
Transportation: Transportation is tricky. Unless you have your own fleet of energy/fuel efficient vehicles, you rely on what is currently available in the market or you purchase offsets—both have pros and cons. At this point, there isn’t a transportation company that uses only fuel/energy-efficient vehicles servicing both the national and international markets. There are some laudable local/regional companies offering “green fleets” but the need for national coverage is great.
Carbon offsets are helpful as long as organizations don’t become complacent about improving their transportation processes because offsets can be purchased. This is a start in reducing one’s carbon footprint only—not the endgame. There are ways to purchase carbon offsets that invest in renewable energy in an organization’s region, which puts dollars back into local economies to further develop renewable energy alternatives for all.
As a smaller company unable to afford its own fleet of fuel/energy efficient vehicles, Animavi has worked with entities such as UPS and DHL for its shipping needs, both of which have aggressive initiatives to green their organizations. There is also a plan in place to provide Animavi’s customers the choice to offset emissions for shipping of their purchase through an organization called Shipgreen www.shipgreen.net. The Shipgreen site has completed its Beta testing and will be live by end of 2008.
End of life management: The notion of a manufacturer taking responsibility for its product in the market is here to stay and will only gain momentum. One only has to look at the carpet industry’s environmental initiatives to see what is possible and probable for other manufacturers involved with the built environment. Areas of consideration, beyond ease of disassembly, look at recyclability of components (that fit within current recycling streams) as well as “upcycling” opportunities. Another path to consider is the creation of a corporate buy-back or leasing program to better control this critical part of any sustainability initiative. If this is not feasible, consider alignment with organizations that will reclaim product and gift it to the community at no charge—reducing the possibility that your product will one day live in a landfill. In Animavi’s research, one non-profit organization doing this currently is the Anew Foundation in Los Angeles, Calif., www.anewfound.org.
In the big picture, all of the above information is really just “surface scratching.” The integration of sustainable thought into one’s business model is not predicated on finances or the brand clout of an organization, but a commitment of time, energy and responsible design. This is intended to be an article about hope; size is not nearly as important as intention and innovation. The truth is sustainability is an ongoing, endless journey and a laudable goal—even for the little guy.
For Animavi, a sustainable furniture design and manufacturing firm located in Venice, Calif., sustainability was the thread that knit the company’s business goals together and helped it launch its eco-modernist line of products in spring 2008. Animavi began its journey toward sustainability with a singular goal of designing and manufacturing furniture that married modern design with sustainability. This philosophy of “sustainable design equals good design” has acted as a “green compass” that has enabled a very holistic view of Animavi’s products’ environmental impact from material origin/sourcing to end-of-life management issues. In mapping out its start-up strategy, a few key components emerged as essential to the company’s mission.
Design for longevity: At the core is authentic design intended to last lifetimes. This notion was at the center of the design program for Animavi’s first collection and will be a consistent element in future collections. The design of Animavi’s pieces is both timeless in appeal and robust in construction to truly weather both residential and commercial applications. Animavi was not inclined to produce pieces that added to the “throw away” mentality found in so many contemporary consumer goods. Good design ensures it’s far less likely that Animavi pieces will ever end up in a landfill.
Transparency: These enlightened capitalists understood that decisions made early on would have lasting effects on the strength of their brand and the vehicles they chose to communicate their sustainability goals. Transparency of their successes as well as their challenges needed to become part of their brand story, because as designers and specifiers they understood the need to differentiate themselves from the “greenwashers.” There is no magic bullet here; to be a change agent, information must be shared. True sustainable methodologies require open, honest dialogue to arrive at solutions that many can use. This promise of eco-intelligence is found not only in the sustainable attributes of its products raw materials and manufacturing partners’ processes, but is also evident throughout the communication of its products’ eco-profile.
Sustainable materials research: This is critical. Animavi aligned itself with like-minded material manufacturers that had stringent environmental policies in place, such as 3-form www.3-form.com, a resin manufacturer located in Salt Lake City, Utah, who has a reclamation program for its product demonstrating responsibility for end-of-life management. Smith & Fong, the manufacturers of Plyboo Bamboo www.plyboo.com is another philosophically compatible material manufacturer whose environmental and social equitability initiatives led the company to become the first bamboo flooring and plywood manufacturer on the planet to receive FSC certification.
To truly understand a material’s story, questions must be raised beyond the basics of durability, price and maintenance. Where does the material come from? What are working conditions like for employees? How far does it have to travel if not made domestically? Is the manufacturing facility ISO-certified, and if not, what are the environmental initiatives of the manufacturer? Does the company work with recyclers to upcycle its waste into new product? Does it have reclamation programs in place to alleviate landfill-bound materials? What are its overall environmental stewardship initiatives?
Third-party certification: This is critical for any product’s environmental claims to be substantiated and assist in moving from first party, anecdotal information to measured and verified third-party certification. There are a multitude of voluntary certifications available to manufacturers: from non-profit organizations such as Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) www.scscertified.com that measure VOC emissions and recycled content, to the recently announced Sustainability Certification for Furniture (based on BIFMA’s Sustainability Standard), to proprietary protocols that use a lifecycle assessment approach such as MBDC’s Cradle to Cradle Certification www.mbdc.com. These are not inexpensive processes; understanding which certification systems are in line with an organization’s sustainability goals is paramount. How do you determine which testing protocol is right? Research is critical to appropriately align which certification system fits within an organization’s sustainability goals. Animavi is in its final analysis of determining which system suits its current and future environmental initiatives.
Supply chain partners: Animavi believes in mentorship and the sharing of information. Only through integrated design and supply chain partnerships was the company able to move quickly to have a positive impact on the design and manufacturing of its furniture. The goal of keeping manufacturing close to its office in Venice was not an easy task, but having its furniture manufactured in the greater Los Angeles area was critical to sustainability goals. As fabrication partnerships began, Animavi was very direct and clear regarding its desire to align with entities that understood the importance of sustainability and possessed a willingness to try new practices and new materials—to truly partner to improve one another’s practices.
Participation/membership in trade organizations: Being a part of an industry organization enables peer discussion. As members of the Sustainable Furniture Council www.sustainablefurniturecouncil.com, Animavi has a vehicle to communicate and share best practices in an open forum. Through alignment with like-minded organizations pursuing a sustainable business model, new ideas and innovative solutions can be shared—pushing change to make market transformation a reality.
Packaging: This is one of the more challenging areas to date. Animavi’s goal to eliminate packaging altogether was difficult due to the pragmatics of shipping and potential for damage required some type of packaging. After looking into alternatives from high post-consumer-content corrugated to blanket wrapping, the company decided to create its own fabric covers made of organic cotton, which featured the dual benefits of transportation protection and outdoor cover when needed. This design solution has eliminated the need for any traditional packaging at all and can be reused over and over.
Transportation: Transportation is tricky. Unless you have your own fleet of energy/fuel efficient vehicles, you rely on what is currently available in the market or you purchase offsets—both have pros and cons. At this point, there isn’t a transportation company that uses only fuel/energy-efficient vehicles servicing both the national and international markets. There are some laudable local/regional companies offering “green fleets” but the need for national coverage is great.
Carbon offsets are helpful as long as organizations don’t become complacent about improving their transportation processes because offsets can be purchased. This is a start in reducing one’s carbon footprint only—not the endgame. There are ways to purchase carbon offsets that invest in renewable energy in an organization’s region, which puts dollars back into local economies to further develop renewable energy alternatives for all.
As a smaller company unable to afford its own fleet of fuel/energy efficient vehicles, Animavi has worked with entities such as UPS and DHL for its shipping needs, both of which have aggressive initiatives to green their organizations. There is also a plan in place to provide Animavi’s customers the choice to offset emissions for shipping of their purchase through an organization called Shipgreen www.shipgreen.net. The Shipgreen site has completed its Beta testing and will be live by end of 2008.
End of life management: The notion of a manufacturer taking responsibility for its product in the market is here to stay and will only gain momentum. One only has to look at the carpet industry’s environmental initiatives to see what is possible and probable for other manufacturers involved with the built environment. Areas of consideration, beyond ease of disassembly, look at recyclability of components (that fit within current recycling streams) as well as “upcycling” opportunities. Another path to consider is the creation of a corporate buy-back or leasing program to better control this critical part of any sustainability initiative. If this is not feasible, consider alignment with organizations that will reclaim product and gift it to the community at no charge—reducing the possibility that your product will one day live in a landfill. In Animavi’s research, one non-profit organization doing this currently is the Anew Foundation in Los Angeles, Calif., www.anewfound.org.
In the big picture, all of the above information is really just “surface scratching.” The integration of sustainable thought into one’s business model is not predicated on finances or the brand clout of an organization, but a commitment of time, energy and responsible design. This is intended to be an article about hope; size is not nearly as important as intention and innovation. The truth is sustainability is an ongoing, endless journey and a laudable goal—even for the little guy.
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