How we make use of our finite material resources is a cause for concern – and so is how we deal with things when they’ve served their intended purpose. It’s natural therefore, that we should look for innovative solutions in the area of materials. We can find much to inspire us, and a great deal of intelligence, in the approach taken by Artek and Interface.

Intelligent consumption is a fundamental issue to Artek. Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, whose love of art and technology meant that his company was inevitably named Artek, created the company in 1935. Aalto’s far sighted vision in his buildings and furniture was always modernistic and simple. He foresaw the merging of natural materials and longevity with ethics and ecology. That quality we now call sustainability.

A perfect example of his success is Artek’s ‘2nd Cycle’ project. In April 2007, the company exhibited a range of its re-acquired products, some up to 70 years old, at Milan’s Salone Internazionale del Mobile. Items of furniture are repaired but not refurbished, leaving any post-production paint or covering to tell its own story. An RFID tag (which is readable by a mobile phone) is embedded to record the item’s history and leads to a web page that enables new owners to add their own information. The idea is to raise awareness and consciousness of consumption, to honour the importance of originality and simplicity, and to celebrate the enhanced value and beauty the furniture has acquired in use. “I think we need to create a climate that embraces longevity and solidity. We have been overwhelmed by the positive response to what is a very simple proposition”,says Tom Dixon, Artek’s Creative Director.

Artek’s pavilion for the Milan show marked a new beginning for the company. It was designed by Shigeru Ban, a renowned architect, from an innovative raw material (a wood-plastic composite manufactured using surplus material from one of Artek’s wood suppliers.) Naturally, the wood is from sustainably-managed mixed forests in central and eastern Finland. “Recycled materials will of course be very important, but I would be careful to measure the impact of reprocessing in energy use. The future will come as much from virgin materials that are renewable, and from producing more durable goods”, says Dixon.

In February 2007, Artek launched its new range of furniture called “Bambu”. Bamboo is an ideal material for furniture since it is very hard yet flexible; its long stringy fibres are perfectly suited to Artek’s trademark sweeping curves. More importantly, Bamboo is a fast growing wood, which does not require replanting after cropping, and produces 35% more oxygen than equivalent trees. An iconic shape, one that epitomises everything Artek aspires to, is the ‘L-leg.’ The innovative and strong L-leg is based on the technique of bending solid wood. Fitting is simple and easy, using screws, thus avoiding the need for complicated joinery. Stylish and elegant, the L-leg is sturdy and long lasting.

Artek tread lightly and don’t suggest their way is always the best way; “Sustainability is a complex subject... It is very difficult to be involved in the production and marketing of new artefacts, and claim to be sustainable”, explains Dixon... “We can only hope to show better practice, compared to what we did last year, and compared to other companies. It would be better not to produce at all!”

Another notable company that focuses on materials whilst embodying the philosophy of intelligent consumption is Interface Inc. “At Interface we seek to become the first sustainable corporation in the world, and, following that the first restorative company. It means creating new technologies for the future – kinder, gentler technologies that emulate nature’s systems. I believe that’s where we will find the right model.” (Ray C Anderson, Chairman, Interface Inc)

Mission Zero is the name given to Anderson’s plan to become completely sustainable by the year 2020. This foundation underpins all the company’s management decisions. The initial step to “do something” by using less and recycling more was the ‘Quest – War on Waste’ programme in 1995. From this point InterfaceFLOR began to design carpet tiles using less material while maintaining the quality and longevity of its products. Eventually creating tiles with a pound less material per square yard. The energy saved by not processing that material was more than twice InterfaceFLOR Commercial’s total annual process energy. In its first four years Quest saved Interface $113 million while eliminating tons of material waste. 

InterfaceFLOR considers how it can minimise the environmental impact of products at the design stage; “When we design we look at every aspect of the product from the materials used to the type of application the product will be used in. We then use a bespoke system called the ‘Sustainability Scorecard’ to give the product a score based on its life cycle analysis”, explains Ed Blamey, Sustainability Director at InterfaceFLOR. “This score is then benchmarked against previous products, enabling us to constantly reduce the environmental impact.”

‘The World's Largest Manufacturer Of Modular Flooring And Carpet Tiles’ also utilises recycled material; “Many of our products have high recycled content and in particular we use recycled yarn in the face of our product, since this part of the product often has the biggest impact. We also use recycled aggregates to produce the backing for the tiles,” says Blamey.

Another initiative started in 1995 was Re-entry. Interface will reclaim customers’ carpet as it is replaced, regardless of its origin. The company then disposes of the old carpet in the most environmentally beneficial way. “Our Re-entry program is fully operational in the US and the UK, as well as many other European countries.” Blamey clarifies. “We continue to review how to expand it to cover as much of our market as possible.” Despite the fact that the costs of diverting the carpet are higher than landfill the company realises it must lead the market towards more environmentally conscious practices. Over 103 million pounds (in weight) of carpet have been diverted from landfill since the program started.

The total weight for 2006 alone was 18 million pounds of which 84% was recycled. Charities receive donations of any reusable carpet, accounting for 2% of that total. Carpet that cannot be recycled or repurposed, some 14%, goes to energy capture and conversion to electricity. Interface is eager to reclaim vinyl-backed carpet to provide material for its GlasBac RE recycled vinyl composite backing. More than 2.2 million square yards of GlasBac RE has been sold since 1996. In keeping with Interface’s ongoing drive to reduce their use of raw materials the company has increased its use of recycled and bio-based materials from 0.5% in 1996 to 20% in 2006.

In 1998, InterfaceFLOR introduced NexStep; a non-PVC recyclable cushion backing containing 20% recycled material. Déjà vu followed the next year boasting recycled nylon fibres and 100% recycled vinyl secondary backing. The year 2000 saw the introduction of Sabi, Prairie School and a number of other modular products, all of which used 100% recycled fibre and 100% recycled secondary backing.

Biomimicry is a term used to describe the copying of natural systems in order to minimise the environmental impact of production. “Biomimicry forms an essential part of the design process. We have already launched a number of products that fit into the biomimicry model and will continue to do so”, Blamey explains. “For example, we looked at natural floors such as leaves on a path or pebbles in a stream and realised that the outside world is actually made up of organised chaos, with no true order in the arrangement of material. We took this concept and created our random carpet tile design, where colour and order is irrelevant. Entropy, was one of the first random designs promoted in Europe. When it was launched it became one of our biggest selling products in the shortest period of time.”

Like Artek, Interface continues to strive for improvement in terms of materials and more, in the march towards sustainability; “As an organisation we approach sustainability on a number of fronts and constantly try to improve in all areas from energy consumption and waste reduction to our dependence on fossil fuel based raw materials and the transport we use. One of the main focus points for us is to establish which, from an environmental perspective, are the most suitable materials to use when manufacturing our products. Is there a better way to produce the backing? Is yarn the best option? These are the types of questions we must constantly be asking ourselves. Only by challenging the norm can we continue to progress.”

Consumer opinion remains a big consideration for this company; “To test customer reaction we have conducted customer satisfaction surveys in the past, but generally our market share and the fact that 83% of our business is repeat business suggests that our customers welcome our initiatives.”

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