Welcome to our new blog series titled 'Workspace Refresh' - Over the coming weeks/months we will be exploring various office-related trends, the effect they can have on your business & employees and how Think Furniture can help you adapt to these trends/changes. First up we have 'Sustainability'.

Over the past few years sustainability and environmentally friendly policies, procedures & outlooks have been a very fast growing trend within all aspects of our lives, from the clothes we wear, to the food we eat, to the items we use in our daily lives, there's no doubt that we are becoming much more environmentally conscious and that globally this is a very 'hot' topic, so to speak.

This is also true within the workplace/office environment as businesses are quickly adopting more sustainable & environmentally friendly practices, placing more consideration into aspects such as the disposal of waste product and the acquisition of new product. With the wide range of sustainable furniture items now on offer, there's no better time to review your current office setup and buying practices.

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Here at Think Furniture we offer a wide range of products, from simple what-you-see-is-what-you-get solutions to more unique and extravagant offerings. We work with a large selection of manufacturers from around the world, all specialists within their own fields.

Something that we've noticed is that furniture manufacturers are facing an ever-increasing level of demand for environmentally friendly products and services, and some are thinking outside the box in order to both satisfy this demand and remain innovative.

Below are some examples of manufacturers that we work with, that are consciously trying to innovate and lead the way when it comes to eco-friendly practices & products;

A manufacturer we work with closely; Humanscale, have teamed up with 'Bureo' to design & develop the 'Smart Ocean Chair' - a task chair which features recycled fishing net sourced from Bureo's 'Net Positiva' program, in a bid to reduce the ever-growing amount of plastics that can sadly be found within our oceans today.

"Fishing nets comprise approximately 10% of the plastic pollution in the ocean today,” says Humanscale Founder and CEO Robert King. “Our partnership with Bureo helps further our goal to achieve a net positive impact on our natural environment. The Smart Ocean task chair not only supports the health and comfort of our customers, but actually removes plastic from the ocean, supporting the overall health and well-being of a greater ecosystem.”

'Flokk', previously known as Scandinavian Business Seating is a hybrid of various brands, all unique in their own right, but also sharing the same set of goals; one of these goals is "to ensure we are environmental pioneers and that we always make the best efforts to protect the world we live in."

With this in mind, Flokk are always innovating and a great example of this is their 2019 product release; the 'New Logic Chair', an addition to their existing 'Logic' chair range. The New Logic Chair contains; 69% recycled polypropylene (equal to 145 shampoo bottles), 94% recycled aluminium (equal to 635 aluminium cans) & 19% recycled steel (equal to 19 dinner knives).

Next up we have a Spanish furniture manufacturer that we work with named 'Actiu'.

Actiu are certainly one of the leading furniture manufacturers in terms of environmental awareness and sustainable working practices - their technological park has become the first Industrial building in the European sector with the 'LEED Platinum' certification, a recognition for sustainable construction

The Actiu Technology Park, designed by Jose Maria Tomas LLavador, has been based on sustainability and self- sufficient use of natural resources right from the design stage. Rain water is collected from the roofs and stored in cisterns for irrigation and industrial use. Europe's largest rooftop photovoltaic plant was installed with state-of- the-art technology and output, which generates 7 million kwh of solar energy, 6 times Actiu's requirements. There has been large-scale planting of trees, where low-water- consumption native species abound, as well as thousands of small aromatic plants. The buildings are designed to make the most of the natural light, through skylights in the roof and glazed facades.

BuzziSpace: a Belgian manufacturer specialising in acoustic office furniture, are another example of a company who have a whole set of working practices & initiatives centered around sustainability. An excellent way that BuzziSpace are ensuring sustainable design (among many other things) is by manufacturing its own felt material named 'BuzziFelt', perfect for dampening noise in office spaces as well as in home environments without losing sight of design/aesthetics. The eco felt or BuzziFelt consists of 100% up-cycled PET plastic bottle waste.

Another way that most of our manufacturing partners are implementing more sustainable practices is by using ethically sourced materials. For example, the majority of our manufacturers use either FSC or PEFC certified wood, sourced from well-managed, sustainable forests which conserve the natural habitats of animals & plants, and also respect the rights of forestry workers & communities.

If you would like more ideas on eco-friendly furniture solutions or are interested in how Think Furniture can help you acquire sustainable design furniture items, please contact us at info@think-furniture.com.

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USEFUL RELATED LINKS:

Humanscale Furniture

Actiu Furniture

BuzziSpace Furniture