Joined-up design with sustainable materials
Kinnarps'
sustainability work
starts with design
and materials.
CONTINUES WITH PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION. AND ENDS WITH USE AND REUSE. BECAUSE, WHEN IT COMES TO SUSTAINABILITY, THERE'S NO ONE FACTOR THAT TAKES PRIORITY, IT'S HOW IT ALL WORKS AS A WHOLE THAT MATTERS.
"What we can say, however, is that it's important that we get it right from the start, in terms of the design and choice of materials. Without joined-up design that takes sustainability into account and uses pure, high-quality materials, we can't fulfil our commitment to keeping our impact on the environment to a minimum," says Kinnarps' Sustainability Manager, Johanna Ljunggren.
The materials that Kinnarps uses most are wood, metal, textiles and plastic.
Kinnarps has effective tools for evaluating the environmental performance of all these materials, and for ensuring that they are produced under environmentally and socially acceptable conditions.
The wood in Kinnarps' products is either FSC®-certified or inspected by Kinnarps, and the surface treatment is strictly regulated to ensure that it has as little environmental impact as possible. Wherever possible, the metal used in frames and underframes is recycled, and our plastics are PFOS free.
In the case of textiles, Kinnarps works with the EU Ecolabel and Oeko-Tex labels, amongst others. Around half of our fabrics are manufactured using natural materials and are naturally flameproof, so we don't need to use chemical flame retardants. All standard fabrics meet the toughest environmental requirements for the respective market.
"Sustainability is based on collaboration, and we work very hard to find the best partners."
An important factor here is to develop common regulations and standards that make it easier to keep control, says Johanna Ljunggren.
Quality
is good
for the
environment
When it comes to sustainability, the materials that we use in our products are one thing, while structure and design are another.
Here, the products' aesthetic appearance must be consistent with long-term durability, methods for managing waste and systems for reuse and recycling.
The fundamental objective is this: people must want to and be able to use Kinnarps' products in the long term. High quality is always a good sustainability target and it reduces our impact on the environment.
"We must also design our products so we use as much of the raw material as possible, keep waste to a minimum and facilitate the reuse of materials. We use part of the unavoidable fabric waste, together with recycled PET plastic, as a filling in some of our sound absorbers,” says Johanna Ljunggren.
Making a difficult job easy
When, eventually, a product inevitably starts to wear out, Kinnarps offers customers the option of refurbishment, upgrade and reuse, based on the principle of a circular economy.
"There are always things that we could do better, but the main thing is that our customers know that we take responsibility for these complex issues and make it easier for architects and designers to create sustainable interior design solutions. Joined-up design and eco-friendly materials are a good start on our sustainability journey,” says Johanna Ljunggren.
DID YOU KNOW THAT?
92% of our raw wood is inspected or otherwise responsibly produced and certified with the FSC and PEFC labels.
50% OF OUR RE:FILL FILLING MATERIAL COMPRISES OF RECYCLED MATERIALS SUCH AS FABRIC WASTE AND PET PLASTIC.
69% of the textiles in Kinnarps range are certified with the EU Ecolabel or Oeko-Tex label.
60-90% OF THE ALUMINIUM IN OUR FRAMES AND UNDERFRAMES COMPRISES RECYCLED CAST ALUMINIUM.
MATERIALS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Wood, metal, plastic and textiles are the raw materials we use most in our interior designs. We operate in accordance with stringent sustainability requirements and use pure materials, with raw materials that are produced under environmentally and socially acceptable conditions. We are also certified to ISO 14001.
PLASTIC
WE MANUFACTURE OUR OWN PADDING.
We mould our own padding in Skillingaryd and have chosen to completely remove the harmful isocyanate TDI from our padding and to replace it with the less hazardous chemical MDI. PVC and phthalates are not used in our products (except for the plastic elements of electrical components), and plastic components are PFOS free. Our Re:fill material contains only recycled PET plastic, together with our own waste textiles and Oeko-Tex®-certified polyester melt fibre.
TEXTILES
- WE OFFER TEXTILES CERTIFIED WITH THE EU ECOLABEL AND OEKO-TEX® LABELS.
- We offer several durable and natural materials such as hemp, recycled jute and wool. Wool is also naturally flame retardant. Since the end of the 1990s, we have worked on fabric requirements in order to be able to offer sustainable and safe products and to ensure that workers enjoy a healthy working environment. Our textile range meets the stringent market requirements for fire, durability, lightfastness etc.
WOOD
- A HIGH PROPORTION OF THE WOOD THAT WE PURCHASE IS CERTIFIED (FSC, PEFC).
- The wood that we use in our products is either FSC®-certified or from a source that has been inspected by us. The objective is that all wood will be FSC-certified by 2020. The surface treatment of our wood products is strictly regulated in order to have as little environmental impact as possible.
METAL
- We use recycled material in our frames and underframes to the greatest possible extent. When applying surface treatment to metal, we primarily use powder coating, which has a low environmental impact. It is done in a sealed facility so that no substances can leak out into the atmosphere. We have made it a requirement that metals must not be mixed in order to facilitate recycling.
A HEALTHY WORK ENVIRONMENT
A healthy work environment based on pure materials is crucial for wellbeing. Consequently, we always err on the side of caution and we don't use any unnecessary chemicals.
One of the things we have done is to produce a new method for UV painting which reduces the use of solvents. We have also replaced chemical flame retardants in polyester fabrics where the structure of the fibres acts as a natural flame retardant. We require products that include electronics to be CE-marked and that suppliers comply with the EU RoHS directive, which bans the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chrome and the flame retardants PBB and PBDE in electronic products.
