Are You Creating An Eco Friendly House?

Talk of fast fashion has been rife in recent years but we haven’t heard half as much about fast furniture. Much like their clothing counterparts, fast furniture is easy to get hold of and, in theory, easy to cast aside too. When creating an eco friendly house, consideration needs to be given to several factors, such as whether or not you’ll compost waste and use natural cleaning products, but what about your large-scale joinery projects? Choosing a kitchen from a catalogue as opposed to one created by an environmentally conscious company such as Shape London will have a significant impact on the world around you, but how exactly?

The Environmental Impact Of Fast Furniture

Despite being a relatively new term in the industry, fast furniture has been a common feature for years now. Whilst we understand the necessity of large companies producing pieces in large quantities to an extent, at Shape, we place a heavy emphasis on the importance of true craftsmanship, quality and reducing our environmental impact. If you’re trying to create a more eco friendly house, we invite you to consider the effects that fast furniture could have on the planet.

When choosing mass-produced fittings & furnishings, it’s vital to consider that these materials won’t necessarily biodegrade or may take several years to break down. During this time, these pieces, whether large or small, are taking up a great deal of space in landfill sites across the country. At the point of purchase, many don’t consider the eventuality of getting rid of large-scale pieces. However, such fast furniture items simply aren’t built to last. What’s more, these larger items are designed to have a shorter lifespan within your home as they lack the quality and the much-loved personalised touches that come with bespoke joinery and that guarantee longevity.

It’s also highly likely that transport emissions will be higher as goods will often get shipped between locations, warehouses and suppliers several times before they find a place in your home. The shipping industry alone is responsible for an astounding amount of global emissions at almost 3% per year. Although they are looking to bring this figure down, it’s vital for individuals to do their best to play their part where they can and this includes when creating an eco friendly house. At Shape, we do our bit by using partners based in and around London to reduce our carbon footprint.

Your Eco Friendly House

As well as the points we’ve already mentioned, the rise of fast furniture is also contributing to a global problem that we often forget about in the UK – deforestation. A total of 95% of all global deforestation happens in the tropics and as they’re home to over half of all land-based species and plants, the loss of their vital habitats is detrimental to their survival. What’s more, with an estimated 300 million people living in these forests themselves and a billion people worldwide depending on them, it truly is a global concern. Although your home is likely miles away from the tropics, including more thoughtful materials in your next design project is something you can do to lessen the impact of deforestation to some degree. This is all possible whilst ensuring you invest in sustainable pieces, which have been built to last.

When you discuss your plans for your eco friendly house with our team, it’s vital that you share your hopes for your home with us. We might suggest a range of things, including using materials like Foresso. It’s made from waste wood sourced from trees felled in Britain – think terrazzo but timber. Timber offcuts from building sites and UK sawmills are mixed with wood dust, mineral dust and non-toxic and formaldehyde-free glue to bind everything together. This material would look wonderful in the kitchen of your eco friendly house. If you want to find out more about how we can help you to create the environmentally conscious home of your dreams, get in touch today.

Contact The Shape London Team

To see what we’ve done for past clients, click here to browse our gallery. You can ask us any questions you’d like by filling out a contact form or you can email us at mail@shapelondon.co if you’d prefer.

You can also check out our online journal and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for inspiration and more information about the materials we use regularly.