Environmental awareness and sustainability have never been more of a priority for individuals, communities and businesses alike. Considered interior design can help create more homes that are better for the planet, the economy and our wellbeing. With initiatives such as Interior Design Declares, designers have joined forces to use their influence to raise awareness of the impact the industry has on the planet and on the consumer side, more homeowners are researching ways to make their homes more eco-friendly and reduce their carbon footprint.
Personal wellness is becoming an increasingly important topic when considering home design and improvements too. Our lives have centred around the home far more in the past year and many are eager to carve out dedicated spaces for all aspects of wellbeing – from building home gyms to peaceful corners to practice mindfulness.
Here, we look at some of the products and companies putting sustainability at the heart of what they do.
If you’re keen to learn more about sustainability in the home, along with some of the latest stats and innovations around water consumption, lighting, and home automation, then check out our article on eco-friendly luxury interior design – helping you measure and reduce your home’s carbon footprint.
Konk is a multidisciplinary design studio and workshop producing bespoke pieces of furniture for both commercial and residential clients.
Everything is handmade to order in their Bristol workshop by an expert team who all share a passion for making.
Designers Adam Fairweather and Rosalie McMillan share a strong passion for making sustainable artisanal materials paired with a strong narrative.
Smile Plastic’s mission is to change people’s perceptions around waste via innovation – to use art and technology to unlock the hidden potential in recycling, and open people’s eyes to the unexpected beauty of scrap materials.
Acoustic panel specialist Woven Image launched its innovative EchoPanel solution fifteen years ago. The company is celebrating the product’s birthday and the milestones in providing ecologically sustainable, design-led solutions for commercial interiors achieved along the way, as well as releasing eight new directional on-trend colours for the 12mm collection.
EchoPanel is made of 60% recycled PET bottles and for every 1000 sheets of EchoPanel manufactured, approximately 4.2 tonnes of post-consumer waste PET is diverted from landfill.
High Society Studio is an Italian-based design practice focusing on material innovation. They create plant-based lighting products using post-industrial waste.
Some of the eco-friendly materials they use include hemp leftovers, discarded leaves and stalks from tobacco cultivation and pomace, which is made using the solid remains of wine production.
Glasgow-based Bespoke Atelier has launched an online platform to provide its customers with access to bespoke wallpapers, through flexible and customisable designs.
Designed in Scotland and printed in the UK, the wallpapers are of the highest quality and have stellar environmental credentials. All Bespoke Atelier wallpapers are FSC approved and use eco friendly inks. Designs are printed to order and due to the non-match design formula there is no paper wastage during the install process. In addition, for every roll of wallpaper sold Bespoke Atelier plants one tree in the Scottish Highlands.
This line of fireplaces is fuelled by clean-burning, eco-friendly bio-ethanol. Ethanol is a renewable energy source and it is completely composed of biological processes. As such, you’ll only experience clean emissions, making these furnishings ideal as both indoor and outdoor fireplaces.
They are also smokeless and odourless, so you don’t need a chimney or have to worry about the smell.
Graphenstone offers an ecological range of products composed of natural elements that purify the air we breathe inside our homes.
It is suitable for people suffering from chemical intolerance and highly-recommended for indoor enclosures, hospitals, nurseries, hotels, or environments designed for infants and children.
Linen and Stripes is a UK homeware brand offering Premium quality organic linen pillow covers that are sustainable, simple and stylish.
Taking inspiration from everyday life, travelling, nature, form, pattern and texture to create high quality and eye-capturing pieces, which do not harm the environment!
Camira, who design and manufacture upholstery and panel textiles, have elevated their commitment to sustainable design with the launch of their first fabric to contain plastic sea waste.
Woven from plastic debris found floating in our seas and post-consumer plastic bottles, destined for landfill, it’s one small drop in the mission to clean both the earth and its ocean. A recycled polyester with a purpose, Oceanic is a strikingly contemporary fabric with an intricate twill weave.
Based in Oslo, Norway, Vestre is one of Scandinavia’s leading manufacturers of sustainable furniture for urban and outdoor public spaces, which it has been creating since 1947.
Vestre’s factory in Oslo runs on renewable energy, with solar panels on the roof that produce enough energy to power the plant in the summer. Plus, they donate at least 10 per cent of its annual profits every year to sustainable projects worldwide.
Through their commitment to providing fair wages, happy working environments, and sustaining grants, The Citizenry’s artisan partners are able to take their crafts and their businesses to new places.
Firera is a sustainable and vegan home decor and lifestyle store offering high-quality, long-lasting and environmentally friendly products for a conscious home.
Suitable items for a conscious home must present a balance between beauty, design, practicality, and sustainability.
Lakeland’s natural eco paint is non-toxic, vegan and VOC free paint that is available for next day home delivery.
With a wide range of wall paint, wood paint, varnish, claypaint, floor paint, masonry paint, nursery paints or specialised paint in many different colours. Keep the air in your home breathable and reduce your carbon footprint.
Aerende is an online shop selling home products and gifts made in the UK by people facing social challenges.
Carefully crafted products from around the British Isles, created by makers who struggle to access or maintain conventional employment.
Wearth partners with 150 independent UK brands to make contemporary and eco-friendly products accessible. Everything online is hand selected and features all sorts, from zero waste essentials to jewellery made from recycled silver.
We love these eco-friendly coffee cups, with slight variations of form and finish add to the cup’s artisan charm.
Supporting British manufacturing, craftsmanship and sustainable processes is at the heart of One Nine Eight Five.
They celebrate the talent of British craftspeople, and UK manufacturing and are proud that each One Nine Eight Five product is designed and made in England.
Denmark-based textile manufacturer Kvadrat produces high-quality upholstery, window coverings, rugs, and textile-related products for architects, designers and private consumers.
100 per cent fuelled by renewable energy, Kvadrat’s strongest sustainability policy is actually its use and disposal of fabrics.
American furniture company Emeco is best known for creating the 1006 Navy Chair, made from salvaged aluminium for US Navy submarines, and still in production today.
Emeco’s environmental policy is focused on sustainability in the form of recycled materials and longevity. Since 1944, Emeco has been building chairs from at least 80 per cent recycled aluminium, and any scrap left over from the manufacturing process is also recycled.
Swedish flooring designer Bolon has had sustainability at the core of its beliefs since its inception over 70 years ago, with its first product being rag rugs produced from vinyl waste.
Bolon recycles its own flooring and the waste from other companies in the area into raw materials, before using them to create new pieces of flooring.
Agnes LDN sells handmade goods that are designed to reduce packaging waste. They research where fabric is sourced and how it is made, for example their Grocery bags use 100% organic GOTS cotton.
They try and support fellow small businesses that have similar values as they believe change starts with community.
Through the use of untreated natural plant parts, which have largely retained their original appearance, feel and fragrance during our production processes, we are able to bring the outdoors into interior spaces as well as the fresh smells and positive associations of nature.
A leading sustainable flooring manufacturer, Granorte does a lot of product research and development, resulting in innovative production processes.
Cork oak remains the only tree whose bark can regenerate itself after harvest leaving the tree unharmed. It is truly a renewable, environmentally friendly resource.
From lighting to mirrors, Nkuku’s range is expansive. The company works with natural, recycled and reclaimed materials through sustainable methods of production – from cotton paper, glass, metal, natural stone, mango wood, and ceramics.
They also take care to work fairly with artisans all over the world to make sure everything they do is “ethical, eco-friendly and handmade”.
Danish design brand Mater collaborates with established and upcoming designers to create high-end furniture and lighting. It bases its core business philosophy and approach to the design industry on three key principles: design, craftsmanship and ethics – this includes its approach to sustainability. Mater’s goal is to make all of its designs with sustainably or ethically sourced materials.
This includes using recycled aluminium taken from old car parts and bicycle wheels to make some of its furniture and lighting products.
From sustainable homewares brand Weaver Green, each Andalucia Paloma Rug is hand-loomed using recycled plastic yarn. They’re mould and water-resistant, hardwearing and have great environmentally credentials.
They’re also completely uninteresting to moths and dust mites, making them perfect for allergy sufferers, pet owners and homes prone to carpet moths.
Each of Eskayel’s one-of-a-kind designs originates from a painting inspired by nature or travel and created by studio founder Shanan Campanaro. Using eco-friendly methods, including water-based pigment ink, regional production and sustainably sourced materials, Eskayel evolves these artworks into hand-tied rugs, wall coverings, home linens, fabrics, furnishings, accessories and more.
In his search for morality in yarn production, designer Erez Nevi Pana has created Unravelled, a new collection of tapestries made entirely from “cruelty-free” ahimsa silk, also known as peace silk. It means the cocoons of the silkworm are harvested in nature after the moth had emerged and flown away.
The silk yarn is then translated into a huge cloth that exposes the beauty of a natural material that is produced in harmonious growth without harm.
MAiK has made sure that every step of their manufacturing process is within their control. Their woven fabric is made in an east London unemployed women’s social enterprise, paper is printed at the UK’s only eco-printers and their trays are made at a Swedish company committed to cultivating trees properly.
Piñatex is made of ï¬bre from the waste leaves of the pineapple plant. These leaves are a by-product from existing pineapple harvest, so the raw material requires no additional environmental resources to produce.
Piñatex is fit for use across fashion, accessories & upholstery and has been used by over 1000 brands worldwide including Hugo Boss, H&M and the Hilton Hotel Bankside.
With an emphasis on long-lived furniture, Stuart Scott uses the integrity of natural objects as a key source of inspiration.
Each piece is carefully considered, using sketches and prototypes to gradually hone the initial idea into something unique.
Their rugs are made with natural materials and sustainable processes, designed to counteract today’s throwaway culture and stand the test of time. The company holds themselves to the highest standards of transparency, environmental performance and social responsibility to make a lasting difference.
With roots in a small town on the Baltic coast, Skargaarden produces indoor and outdoor furniture built to withstand anything the harsh Swedish weather can throw its way. The sustainable materials and processes
Skargaarden implements make its furniture an excellent eco-friendly option that you’ll be able to use for years. Its ingenious solutions elevate simplicity to the sublime.
UK Hempcrete specialises in the use of Hempcrete (or ‘hemp-lime’) alongside other natural materials. They use these low impact materials in both new build construction projects and the repair and upgrading of traditional and historic buildings.
The team has a passion for low impact building and the upgrading of traditional, historic buildings using eco-friendly, sustainable materials.
Reclaim Design offers an elegant range of handmade Eco friendly home decor made from locally sourced reclaimed wood and recycled materials.
Since late 2020, the company has relocated to Portugal and expanded their services to include van builds/conversions and a variety of other carpentry work utilizing both new and reclaimed wood.
This family-owned Danish company believes in sustainable and straightforward beauty, working with skilled international designers to achieve that goal.
Their holistic approach to sustainability includes materials, production and the way they treat partners and employees. The company builds durable furniture that focuses on both aesthetics and functionality.
Malai – (noun) a newly developed biocomposite material made from entirely organic and sustainable bacterial cellulose, grown on agricultural waste sourced from the coconut industry in Southern India.
Malai is a flexible, durable biocomposite material with a feel comparable to leather or paper. It is water resistant and because it contains absolutely no artificial ‘nasties’ it will not cause any allergies, intolerances or illness. It is a completely vegan product.
Italian furniture brand Tacchini is responsible for manufacturing furniture items from modular seating systems and armchairs to tables and dining chairs.
All of the company’s materials and semi-finished products come from a zone of around 50 kilometres of the Tacchini plant, keeping the pollution and energy consumption produced from their transport at a minimum level.
Tala is a British lighting brand based in east London. Founded in 2013, the company specialises in low-energy LED lighting products that recreate the warm glow of traditional incandescent bulbs.
Tala runs a reforestation programme where it donates a portion of its revenue to tree-planting programmes across the globe in a bid to offset the carbon emissions generated by its production.
Natural Collection only stock products that have a positive impact on people and/or the environment. From Fairtrade and organic grocery shopping to energy efficient gadgets and unique ethical gifts that directly benefit the people who made them.
They sell products from leading ethical brands as well as supporting independent traders and producers across the world.
There are many ways in which a bedroom can impact your sleep hygiene, and bedding is one of them. Parachute’s bedding is manufactured by artisans who have been weaving world-class linens for over 80 years. By collaborating with expert craftspeople, Parachute is able to deliver premium quality textiles that uphold the high standards and heritage of that region.
Desserto is a highly sustainable plant based material as an alternative to leather made from cactus, often distinguished by its great softness at touch while offering a great performance for a wide variety of applications and complying with the most rigorous quality and environmental standards.
The aim is to offer cruelty free, sustainable alternatives, without any toxic chemicals, phthalates and PVC. The result, Desserto , the cactus material, is partially biodegradable and has the technical specifications required by the fashion, leather goods, luxury packaging and furniture industries.
Yinka Ilori has made quite a name for himself in the design world. His dedication to sustainability and the sheer vibrant imagination behind his furniture make him one of the most exciting creatives on the scene.
From two or three found pieces of furniture, he creates sculptural hybrid chairs that muddle different design traditions and social histories into something colourful, heart-warming and completely new.
West Elm are committed to making a difference, both locally and globally. By designing over 90% of their products in-house, their design team has steadily increased their selection of organic, handcrafted, sustainably sourced and Fair Trade Certified products.
There’s a story behind everything they sell.
Flooring manufacturer Tarkett produces a broad scope of surfaces to both professional and residential, including vinyl, laminate, wood, carpet rolls and tiles, linoleum, artificial grass and tracks. With a goal to establish a circular economy in the flooring industry, Tarkett is invested in cradle to cradle production.
One Tarkett product alone can contain around 20 different raw materials. The products can be disassembled and recycled at the end of use.
An organic decision for your home helps to preserve our precious soil and waterways against the harmful effects of pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilisers and other conventional (non-organic) agricultural runoff that contributes to global warming, climate change, soil degradation, and pollution.
Mamagreen creates luxurious, high-end outdoor furniture. Designed to last, their furniture is manufactured using a majority recycled or recyclable materials. More than 90% of the teak is carefully sourced from abandoned buildings, with the remainder coming from strictly managed plantations.
