“How we work”: 7 Solutions to Make Your Design Business More Environmentally Conscious
“Fast Fashion” has become a hot topic in the fashion and environmental world. So what exactly does fast fashion have to do with interior design? Well, the fashion and interior design industries are vastly interconnected. Both go through trends, rely on textiles and manufacturers, and contribute greatly to the world’s landfill and waste management crisis.
I have spent the past three years building my own interior design business and have noticed that sustainability is an issue in our industry that many designers and contractors are not addressing.
Here are a few ways I have found to reduce the amount of potential waste that Blackwell & Jennings is creating. I hope these tips can be helpful for you too!
1. More Mobile Furniture, Less Built-ins
Using fewer custom built-ins and more mobile furniture in healthcare and office spaces can create a more flexible space. This allows staff to rearrange furniture placement in the future to accommodate for more staff or use a room in a new way. For example, instead of having a custom built-in desk that is attached to the wall, have a free-standing desk that can be moved. Having more flexible spaces and furniture options will create a longer lasting space. This can cause less waste (from throwing away the custom built-ins when they don’t work anymore) and less unnecessary purchasing of new furniture in the future.
2. Donating or Reusing Furniture
Remodeling and designing for an existing space usually involves removing outdated furniture. This furniture is often thrown away because no one working in the job has the time or resources to find these pieces a new home. This is an issue that I myself still struggle to find solutions for. One option that I’ve considered is finding local thrift areas like Goodwill, Dorcus Thrift, or the Green Chair Project here in Raleigh that will accept this furniture to try and resell it. Furniture that is worn or outdated may not be desirable in my designs, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be reused.
3. “DIY”-ing to Update a Piece
Instead of sending outdated pieces to a landfill, another option for interior designers is to DIY old furniture to make it fit today’s trends. A simple sanding, coat of paint, or replacing of the handles on a dresser can update a piece and make it look new! Not only is this reducing waste, but also saving you money.
4. Avoid synthetic materials like polyester and nylon
Educating ourselves on the impacts of the textiles we select is an incredibly important responsibility we have as designers and consumers. We should avoid using synthetic materials because they are by-products of petroleum and are non-biodegradable. They take a long time to decompose and are difficult to recycle (especially nylon).
5. Avoid Textiles that Use Nonrenewable Production Methods
Although cotton is a natural fiber, it requires a large amount of water to produce.
Rayon/Viscose is another natural fiber made from plants, but it’s not a sustainable option because its toxic production causes mass deforestation.
6. Try to Use More Hemp, Bamboo, Lyocell, and Recycled Fibers
Hemp and bamboo are natural fibers that are renewable and don’t require lots of water or energy to produce.
Lyocell is a great alternative to rayon. Tencel® is a branded name of lyocell fiber. Tencel is also a regenerated cellulose fiber like rayon, but it is processed with a nontoxic spinning solvent in a closed-loop system.
Recycled synthetic materials (nylon and polyester for example) are preventing current synthetic waste from going into landfills and instead give us the ability to reuse them.
7. Consider Your Sourcing and Hold Vendors Accountable
Ask your vendors what sustainability practices they have in place. How are they combating their carbon footprint? How can they use less packaging in shipments? Where are they getting their materials from?
Sadly, we live in a world where money drives change. The vendors we give our business to need to have sustainable production and distribution systems. Vendors need to be held accountable if their companies are not sourcing sustainably and know that designers are concerned about this issue.