How We Are Finding Ways To Be More Sustainable In Our Upholstery Business
Sustainability has always been an important part of our business values, from repurposing old furniture and giving it a new lease of life, through to our custom ranges of furniture that were built from reclaimed wood & sustainable materials.
It is possibly more important to us now than ever as we are teaching others upholstery skills and we want to show them a better way as we work towards a greener and more sustainable way forward in the upholstery industry. In this blog I wanted to share with you how we’ve been working towards this and what we’ve achieved so far.
Eco Friendly Fabric
We have chosen to offer a range of responsibly sourced eco-friendly fabrics for our upholstery workshops. The fabrics are all amazing quality, stylish and luxurious. We offer three ranges supplied by Warwick Fabric UK Amatheon Wool, Eco Velvet, & Oxford Eco.
We have chosen them specifically for their different qualities to suit the style and design of furniture that we are teaching clients to make.
Each of the fabrics has an amazing story behind them from being made from recycled plastic bottles to recycled clothes. From my career in buying I have always been fascinated in understanding how things are made and you really need to hear how these fabrics come to life. There is too much to say in this blog – you need to read the full story here.
Environmentally Friendly Materials
We use lots of different materials in the creation of our furniture from wood to build the furniture frame, different upholstery materials, adhesives and more.
There’s a story behind all of these different materials and how they are sourced. Some examples include; Working with a local timber supplier to supply FSC certified Beech and Ash that is used to build our hardwood frames. All of our upholstery frames are made in house by my dad Ian. Supporting local suppliers and reducing our carbon footprint.
The Dacron / Polyester wadding, a material that is used in the construction of our furniture, is made from Polyester fibre 70-80% of its content is manufactured using recycled plastic bottles. Therefore making it fully recyclable, energy is saved in its manufacturing process ensuring its continued contribution to reduce global warming.
Working with Local Suppliers
We buy from local suppliers as much as possible which further reduces our carbon footprint and enables us to support other small UK-based businesses.
The beautiful pieces of furniture that are made in our workshops are built to last. We use high-quality materials that withstand wear and tear over time, reducing the need for replacements.
Empowering Individuals with Upholstery Skills
We run a host of upholstery and sewing workshops and we are on a mission to empower individuals with skills so they can re-upholster their own furniture or second-hand pieces giving them a new lease of life. This reduces waste and the demand for new furniture production.
We are working towards a greener and more sustainable way for individuals to learn upholstery. We are always looking to find ways in which we can improve our sustainability and will continue to update you with news and progress.
