Apres Planet Feb - Flipbook - Page 11
Nothing lasts like
it used to.
L
et’s take a pair of jeans as a
prime example of this capitalist,
consumerist onslaught we face.
Way back when – let’s say when the
Kennedy family disembarked for the
昀椀rst time on US soil and saddled
up horses to head West – a pair of
denims were considered to be the
hardiest of trousers. It saw its wearer
through seasons and seasons of
hard wearing, cattle-wrangling, landgrabbing riding. Heck, they even
required, like a young unridden colt,
a fair amount of breaking in.
Rumour has it that a pair of 16Oz
jeans had the ability to stand up
straight on own accord – no body
required.
Now, however, you head over to
your local high street, enamoured
by the bright lights and 昀氀attering
mirror-angles, buy a “machinefaded” pair and after only a week
of to-and-froing between Liverpool
Street Station and Spital昀椀elds, you’re
dignity threatens to display through
the paper-thin sheet of fabric left
where your thighs rub when you
walk. Now that’s fast fashion.
The same can be said for every
bit of electronic kit you own. The
moment Big Ben strikes midnight
on the 12-month anniversary of your
ownership, a secret signal gets sent
out to your device, telling it to pack
up straightaway. This happens mere
seconds after its warranty lapsed,
of course.
While sustainability encompasses
an array of 昀椀elds, from material
selection and production processes
to waste management and
environmental impact, it should also
achieve longevity.
Some players in the furniture
昀椀eld are bucking this trend and
returning to the days where you get
what you pay for and you pay for a
sustainable, quality piece that will
work long after the work is done.
To truly achieve sustainability in
furniture, it’s important to focus on
designing pieces that will last for a
long time. This means using durable
materials, resistant to wear and tear,
as well as creating pieces that are
昀椀xable if they do happen to break.
Sustainable furniture designs should
be adaptable to changing needs and
styles, so that it can remain relevant
and useful for a longer period.
In an article, “WHY FURNITURE
THAT LASTS IS ELEMENTAL TO A
MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE”,
manufacturer, Howe, argues that
since sustainability has become
important in the furniture industry,
manufacturers, architects,
designers, dealers, and end-users
have become increasingly aware
of their decisions’ impact on the
environment. One critical aspect of
this is the quality and longevity of
the furniture we produce and bring
to the market.
Howe further mentions that the
impact of low-quality furniture
is far-reaching. Furniture that is
poorly made requires frequent
replacement, leading to the
need for new products and raw
materials. This creates a cycle of
waste that signi昀椀cantly strains the
environment. The production of
new furniture requires extra labour
work, additional transportation, and
a larger carbon footprint. Moreover,
old furniture gets disposed of in
land昀椀lls, taking years to decompose,
and releasing greenhouse gases into
the atmosphere in the process.
“On the other hand, studies have
shown that creating products of
high quality and that have been
built to last, can have signi昀椀cant
environmental bene昀椀ts. According
to a study by the European
Environmental Bureau, extending
the lifetime of the EU’s stock of
electricals by 昀椀ve years would
save almost 10 million tonnes of
emissions (CO2eq) annually by
2030.”
This is equivalent to taking 5
million cars off the roads for a
year – roughly the number of cars
registered in Belgium. Even just a
one-year extension would result in 4
million tonnes of emissions savings
annually, equivalent to taking all
Danish cars (2 million) off the roads.
[As an aside, all HOWE furniture are
designed with a maximized life cycle
in mind and offer up to 10 years
of guarantee on their furniture due
to its endurance, material fatigue
resistance, and the long-lasting
properties of its components.]
We can easily apply this principle to
contract furniture, we just all need
to get on board and demand quality
and longevity.
The Feb 2024 Issue
[9]
