Reuse it, or lose it!: Kinnarps

Conscious consumerism is now a factor affecting up to 75% of retail choices, and in response, markets are awash with buzzword claims about ‘organic’, ‘ethical’ and ‘local’ items and even brands. But how can consumers really know if one product is actually any better for the environment than another?

As Corporate Sustainability Manager for Swedish furniture brand Kinnarps, Johanna Ljunggren states: ‘More and more people want to make sustainable choices, so we have to make it easier to choose.’

A Better Effect

With the development of their web-based rating tool, The Better Effect Index, prospective buyers are able to compare Kinnarps products on up to 20 different sustainability factors. Or if that level of detailed research is a little too much for you, these 20 factors are spread across six main categories and then averaged into one overall score. The myriad factors have been selected, on the one hand, by asking particularly conscious consumers what matters to them most, and on the other, by following official guidelines from the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals programme – so they give, it’s fair to say, a good indication of a product’s credentials.

‘The Index extends the concept of sustainability and includes areas such as climate and reuse – areas rarely subject to requirements in regard to eco-labelling. With the Index, we want to make it simpler to assess the sustainability of products in a more detailed way’, says Ljunggren.

But for Kinnarps, the Index represents more than just a sales tool to help customers decide which product are right for them. As Ljunggren explains: ‘As we see it, it’s about cooperation. If everybody displays their data, we can start to compare with each other. It will lead to more rapid change throughout the industry as a whole.’

The Better Loop

Alongside the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE), Kinnarps is undertaking research into how the furniture industry can effectively implement changes to its sustainability practices. This includes moving to a circular business model called The Better Loop. Based on the Lansink’s Ladder Waste Hierarchy, the model sets out three consumer stages the industry needs to cater for.

RE:USE

‘Studies show that there is great potential in reusing office furnishings, both environmentally and economically. This is where we can make a contribution!’ says Ljunggren.

Kinnarps has shown that manufacturers can welcome re:use as part of a sustainable business model by collecting and marketing used furniture. Providing a combination of modular product lines, like the Scandinavia seating system, as well as inventory or interior design services, means that sometimes the products don’t need to be replaced at all but simply added to or repurposed. Accidents (or rebrands) however, do happen; and if a small change is required, it’s helpful if all fabric is removable in cases of the need for cleaning or reupholstering, for example. Which leads us to stage two.

RE:FRESH

All too often, damage to one small part can mean death to an otherwise perfect product, sentenced to the scrapheap for all eternity. But if that product can be taken apart, and each individual part able to be cleaned, reupholstered or replaced directly by the manufacturer, it means only the damaged piece need be discarded. With it’s all-replaceable parts, Kinnarp’s Capella chair has a potentially extra-long life-span. And far from being a ‘one-trick chair’ as it were, its FreeMotion mechanism incorporates micro-movements which help to get the body moving and improve wellness, as well as being good for the planet.

RE:CYCLE

Last but not least: stage three. If a brand-new product is really the only option, it must be produced in the most responsible way. All Kinnarps products are designed so the individual materials can be separated for responsible recycling, where possible. But some, such as the Oktav sound absorber, feature recycled materials themselves. As well as creating more serene soundscapes for improved workplace wellbeing, Oktav is filled with RE:FILL, an innovative material developed by Kinnarps and made from 25% factory waste fabric and 25% recycled PET plastic.

As one of the first furniture brands to honestly include sustainability data on all its products, Kinnarps hope many more will follow suit, with the result that retail competition becomes a driver of positive change, rather than just profit.


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