Sustainable Homeware Ideas & Materials
We've got you covered!
It is a new season – an autumn with no restrictions. You are free as a bird, meaning now is the right time to make conscious decisions about your lifestyle away from the lockdown ‘musts’.
After all, it is always a good time to get fresh ideas and create beautiful new environments in our homes. We all need a change of the scene to uplift our moods. That’s why we make new starts every day and every season – for ourselves, for the people we love, for our communities, and the environment! Waking up with a mission to become better, to think and act for the greater good is so refreshing, isn’t it?
But How to Be More Eco-Friendly?
The best place to start is in your very own home.
The place we are 100% ourselves, where we can really express ourselves.
We will spend more days and nights the coming winter indoors again, but this time, with friends and family. I am sure you’d agree this is the right time to give your home, your everyday environment, a breath of fresh air to welcome loved ones in a nice, refreshed environment. And this is where we come in.
We wanted to share with you our secrets for a beautiful, fresh eco-friendly environment that will make you look good and feel good! Let’s start with the basics!
Eco-Friendly Home Product
Every day we hear more about the importance of sustainability. We see the motions that have been created about environmentally friendly behaviours, eco-friendly products, processes and business operations. But what do all those words mean to us? Can we actively participate and incorporate them into our own lifestyle?
Of course, the answer is yes! We can contribute, we can actively participate, we can change for the better. By simply making the right everyday choices, we can help the environment – starting with the decoration we choose to have in our homes. That’s right — there are home décor products made from materials that will help sustain the environment while keeping you and your loved ones happier and healthier.
The Best Sustainable Materials to Use
✓Organic Cotton: Organic cotton is entirely different from standard cotton. It is grown and harvested without the use of GMOs or insidious chemicals. Organic cotton is found in home decor products like drapes, towels, sofas, pillows, throw blankets, linens, and much more.
✓ Wood: Only certain types of wood are sustainable. For example, reclaimed wood can come from any sort of tree, but the trick is that the material needs to have been salvaged. Whether it be pinewood collected from a demolished building or driftwood rescued from a local river, if the wood is reused, it is reclaimed. On the other hand, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) wood is generally a material used more in home building than in décor. The FSC-certified stamp means that the manufacturer adhered to strict sustainable forestry practices such as preserving the natural habitat and not using pesticides. Last but not least, Teak wood is sustainable thanks to its high oil content, which makes it rot-resistant and durable. A longtime favourite for decks, the hardwood of this deciduous tree native to South Asia is also perfect for outdoor patio furniture.
✓Recycled Polyester: Referred to as rPET, an acronym for recycled polyethene terephthalate, this form of polyester is a plastic resin created by combining purified terephthalic acid with modified ethylene glycol. A code stamp “#1” on packaged products means that it is PET. After its first life, PET can be pulverized and re-formed into a kind of yarn. This yarn can then be spun into countless shapes and products, from furniture to artwork, giving it a second chance at life.
✓Bamboo: Bamboo is a kind of grass that grows quickly and does not require replanting after each harvest. Additionally, the plant requires no fertilizer, no pesticides and leaves the soil more enriched after reaping. Bamboo rivals materials such as oak, which can take over 100 years to reach maturity, while bamboo is ready for harvest within two to three years. Bamboo can be formed into many durable furniture and decor items. It can also be processed to create an absorbent fabric with antibacterial and hypoallergenic properties, ideal for linens, clothing and towels.
✓Cork: A byproduct of tree bark, cork is considered a sustainable material because there is no need to fell the entire tree to obtain it. The bark used to manufacture cork will regrow within just a few years. Cork’s naturally antimicrobial and hypoallergenic traits make it ideal for in-home use, and the material can be waterproofed and moulded into modules used for flooring. Or it can be repurposed for use in decorative products.
✓Felt: This incredibly versatile and inexpensive textile is glued together to create drapes and furniture. Available as either synthetic, wool or a blend of both, felt can even be produced from PET bottles through a process called ‘wet felting,’ where the raw, shredded material is wetted down. In this form, its potential is endless. Felt is not woven but is instead matted, condensed and pressed into fibres while wet. The resulting textile can be soft or tough, allowing for diverse use for inside decor or exterior roofing, says EcoSalon.
One of the brands we have the honour of collaborating with is a champion of environmentally-minded homeware. Urban Nature Culture is based in Amsterdam, and its creator is Anne Marie Herman, who, since the age of 19, has been travelling the world, finding beauty and treasures in every corner of the globe.
Her travels always led her to find new products, hidden gems, and creative people, inspiring each of her new collections. Curating ancient techniques and art in harmony with nature is one of the most important goals in her life. This is why she started the Urban Nature Culture brand.
Anne Marie finds more ways to produce products sustainably every day. Not just by paying fair wages to the talented craftsmen and companies who provide great products for our homes, but also by using new and planet-friendly sources, or secondary instead of new, raw materials.
As she tells us; “It is our obligation to invest in the future and to be transparent about the way we produce our goods. That way, we wake up each morning with the best intentions – of helping each other and our world, to make the world a little bit better every day.”
Follow the link to discover more about Anne Marie’s vsion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIfM-sRemfs&feature=emb_logo