What is Sustainable Design & Why Should You Care?
What is Sustainable Design?
The terms sustainable design, eco-friendly, eco-conscious, green design and more have been trending over the last few years, but it’s not a new concept. Many companies and individuals have been focused on this for decades in an attempt to do what they can to avoid harming our home planet. And well they should, the home industry generates quite a bit of waste when you think of every bit of product that goes into building and furnishing your home!
So, what exactly is sustainable design? It is the act of thoughtfully designing products and environments that reduce negative impacts on the environment. When it comes to physical products it involves reusing materials, using renewable resources for clean energy to create the item, and being as waste free as possible. It also means buying second hand or shopping from within your own home before you make a brand-new purchase anywhere.
Essentially, you want to pay attention to the materials used in your couch and rug before buying them because you want to buy something made of quality recycled or eco-friendly materials that are going to last you for several years to come. A deeper part of this concept of sustainable design focuses on the production process, is it a fair-trade company? Meaning, are they paying their workers fair wages in a safe working environment? What happens when the product is no longer usable to you? Does it go to sit in the dump and create harmful gas emissions or will it break down safely or be salvageable for parts? Does the company have a recycling program you can use when you’re done with the item? There’s a lot to consider in sustainable design beyond does it look good in your space and what it’s made of.
When you’re looking to add something to your home before doing any shopping, the first sustainable option is to see what’s available in your current home. Can you move something from one room to another or complete a project that’s been sitting undone for months and solve the problem? If the answer to that is no, then the next most sustainable step is to head to some thrift stores to find what you need to complete the space. The thrift store is a fabulous place to find some furniture, accessories and décor because you get a lot of variety in texture, size, and age for great prices that no one else will have in their home! The uniqueness is a huge win.
When I shop for sustainably made products, I want to consider its whole lifestyle including the energy & resources used to create the product as well as where the
materials are coming from. Next is how long the product will last and what happens once it’s no longer usable. Will it sit forever in a landfill as waste, or will it break down and be able to have a new life? There’s a lot of effort that goes into researching these things and to save me time, I rely on people who have already done that work and have created a list of sustainable companies I can trust are making great choices in the whole production process.
Now let's talk about Why Should You Care?
“Research shows that 73% of U.S. consumers think it’s important to buy from companies that are socially or environmentally responsible.” According to a blog from QuickBooks in April of 2019; Sustainable design: What it is, why it matters, and how you can get started - Article (intuit.com).
Why is green design so popular these days? Well, there are a lot of factors that play into that. With the widespread information due to the internet and social media in the last 10+ years people are more informed than ever. Albeit it’s not always factual information. But people who care about the environment have had the chance to alert the world to the status of our environment and how detrimental large industries can be on it.
In 2017, according to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), there were 12.2 million tons of furniture waste generated by Americans and 80.2% of it went to landfills. That doesn’t even include the 3.4 million tons of carpets & rugs that went to landfill that year as well! Guys, those numbers are staggering! The EPA found that only 0.3% of that furniture waste was recovered for recycling. Now, I couldn’t find stats specific to furniture fabrics, curtains, etc., but here is what I found about textiles in general (mostly from the fashion industry). 79 billion cubic meters of water was used by the textile and clothing industry in 2015. (Sources: EPRS (2019,2020)) That’s about 20 trillion gallons of water! Additionally, the environmental impact of microfibers is scary. 0.5 million tonnes of microfibers from washing synthetics are released in the ocean every year. That accounts for 35% of primary microplastics released into the environment. (Sources: EEA (2019), EPRS (2017)) Yuck!
This is all very scary. We all know landfills & plastics in the ocean aren’t good for our environment and need to be decreased. So, what can we do to help?
Enter Sustainable Design. When we pay attention to the full cycle of how a product is sourced, produced, and recycled in the end then we have a much better chance of making the best choice to help our environment stay healthy and safe for all who enter it. To be realistic though, that’s not easy for a lot of people to take the time and effort to research something they don’t fully understand! I get it! I don’t have time to verify everything myself either! That’s why you need to know what logos and symbols to look for before you purchase a product. Forget just the verbiage in the product description because green-washing is rampant these days.
For those of you unaware, green-washing is when the marketing agents use language like “green” & “eco-friendly” or “Paraben-Free" and “Vegan” to try and convince you that you’re making a quality sustainable purchase when in reality they only changed one thing and still trash everything in the end. Or maybe it is vegan, but they treat their employees terribly and are ruining the environment at the same time. If the entire process isn’t clean and helpful to the environment, it doesn’t count as fully sustainable.
So, here’s a list of symbols you can trust when making a purchase these days. I actually grabbed this handy dandy list from a Better Homes & Gardens blog. Make sure you check the show notes to see the images for each logo so you know what to start looking for when you shop sustainably.
B-Corporation
A B-Corp shows that a business has promised to follow strict social & environmental standards. These are companies like Etsy, Patagonia & Seventh Generation.
Energy Star
Energy Star ensures a products energy efficiency meets the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA standards. You find these on many appliances from many brands.
The Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) indicates that the wood used in products such as furniture, paper goods and décor come from forests that are sustainably managed. Crate and Barrel and the outdoor wood collection from Pottery Barn fall under this certification.
Green-e Certification
Green-e certification specifies companies that use renewable energy that are certified in their manufacturing process. You’ll see the logo on companies like Herbal Essences, Arm & Hammer, Laddawn, and Sephora.
LEED Rating System
The LEED Rating System stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. This could be a big thing if you’re building from the ground up or doing a major renovation because it’s for the construction of the whole building, not a singular product. A building that is LEED certified has access to plenty of daylight, clean air and its finishes are free from harmful chemicals. One singular product won’t have this though, so be wary of that greenwashing.
Oeko-Tex Standards
Oeko-Tex is for the production of textiles and leather products, verifying its safety and sustainable production. That includes bedding, clothing, upholstery fabrics and more. It has five separate parts to it which make it such a high standard to achieve. First is the Standard 100 certification which means that the thread, accessories and buttons are all free of harmful substances and are safe to wear or use. The second step is the Made in Green label which ensures the product was manufactured with environmentally friendly processes and the working conditions are fair. The remaining three are all very lengthy to explain so let’s just say that they go even deeper to ensure every part of the textile and leather industry is safe! They are the Leather Standard, STeP which stands for Sustainable Textile & Leather Production, the Eco Passport and the Responsible Business management tool. Some companies with this in-depth certification are The Girlfriend Collective and Crate and Barrel.
GOTS
GOTS is the Global Organic Textile Standard. Textiles like bedding, clothes, rugs, and other such fabric items are certified organic and verified to be sustainably produced from start to finish. Some companies who meet this standard are Made Trade and Aden & Anais, along with Butterblu of The Honesty Co and A1 Home Collections.
Cradle to Cradle
Cradle to Cradle certification has standards for sustainable practices in a company from start to finish. Their goal is to cut waste by using a continuous cycle for a products lifespan. These products are made with renewable resources meant to naturally break down or be reused again. Carnegie Fabrics, Atelier Green Fabrics, Bang & Olufsen, & Ralph Lauren all have various products that are certified.
Fair Trade
Fair Trade is a program that ensures companies have met very specific economic, social and environmental standards. It certifies safe working conditions; protection of the environment, and that the workers lives are improved. Trades of Hope, Pottery Barn including its smaller factions for Kids & Teens, Pact and Target are all certified Fair Trade companies.
Greenguard Certification
A Greenguard certification shows that there are low chemical emissions being emitted from a product which in turn improves our air quality. This is where you find items with Low VOCs or volatile organic compounds. Laticrete and Vermont Woods Studios are a couple of companies that meet this standard.
Made Safe
Made Safe ensures ingredients that are safe for humans are used in the manufacturing process. It screens for chemicals to decide if each ingredient will harm humans or our ecosystem. Ah!Yes, Avocado, Annmarie, Blueland and Brentwood Home are a few of the many companies you can trust.
WaterSense
Finally, we have WaterSense which verifies safe water approved by the EPA. These products use 20% less water than the standard models and help save you energy at the same time. You’ll have to check each product but companies like Allen + Roth, American Standard, Delta & Ikea all produce some that are a great choice. Finally, we have WaterSense which verifies safe water approved by the EPA. These products use 20% less water than the standard models and help save you energy at the same time. You’ll have to check each product but companies like Allen + Roth, American Standard, Delta & Ikea all produce some that are a great choice.
Now, that was a lot to take in, but that’s a good thing because it means you listened, and you cared. I hope this was educational and you go read the show notes on my website so that you can further digest it and acquaint yourself with the logos in order to make the purchases that are reasonable to you and beneficial for us all. Please help us do our part to steward well the Earth we’ve been gifted. It was beautifully created by such a loving God, and we need to put in the effort to keep it that way.
I’m not saying you have to ditch everything not on this list and buy all new or used items today. That is impossible. What I do suggest is that you read the show notes to familiarize yourself with the logos and certifications to look out for. Then when you feel the need for something new, check to see if you already have something that fits the bill within your home. Look at things in a new way. If not, enjoy some thrifting or online second hand shopping, there are plenty of websites for that now too! Finally, when you go to buy something new, take the list of logos and certifications with you so you make intentional and smart decisions. I know you can do it, give yourself time to figure it out and enjoy the lifelong journey of sustainable design.
