10.78 tons
furniture
are discarded annually in Europe.
7 billion people on our planet use a huge amount of products every day. To keep making all these products day in and day out, an unimaginable amount of raw materials and energy is needed.
Raw materials are being depleted and heaps of waste are growing. A major problem for our environment and that also means a major problem for our future.
Het goede nieuws is dat er een oplossing is voor beide problemen: een circulaire economie. Om een circulaire economie te laten werken is het van groot belang dat we gemotiveerd zijn om duurzamere keuzes te maken.
Furniture is a temporary function of valuable raw materials
More and more companies are concerned with sustainability and the demand for a circular design is increasing. At Zwartwoud, we acquired the knowledge early and continue to delve into the subject of circularity and the opportunities it offers. Today, we can call ourselves at the forefront of developing circular custom interiors.
For us, it started in 2007, with seeing the documentary “Afval is voedsel”. It opened eyes: if we want our next generations to enjoy our world as much as we do, things have to be different. David Attenborough's 2020 film “A life on our planet” reinforced that feeling worldwide.
Zwartwoud develops custom interiors with a vision of the future, for organizations with sustainable ambitions.
A circular mindset and a systematic process
Logic takes you from A to B, but imagination takes you everywhere (- Albert Einstein). This is also the case with circularity: there is no single method. It's about the ability to allow innovation and creativity into the process. At Zwartwoud, we work with three principles, which we combine.
The R ladder
The circular R ladder indicates the degree of circularity. The higher up the R ladder, the more resources are saved. Zwartwoud looks at which of the 6 steps of the R ladder we can operate on.
Cradle to Cradle
According to the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) principle, waste equals food: every raw material, every material, must be able to be fully reused without losing its value.
CO2 balance
The CO2 balance of materials is an important aspect for us in determining whether we use a product for a project.
How does that work in practice?
First, an inventory is made of the existing situation to see if and where reuse is possible. This often happens together with the architect. We use our knowledge of the three principles mentioned above to list the available, usable furniture.
Based on this inventory, a layout plan will be made. What can we reuse and what can we restore? For the materials that we cannot put in the new interior, we look for a nice destination and ensure that they do not have to end up in the incinerator. And where no recycled materials are available, we use sustainable materials. During this process, it's all about working with the architect.
The + of Zwartwoud
Featured projects
Proud of our cooperation with, among others:
Zwartwoud develops circular interiors for organizations with sustainable ambitions. We shape space with custom interior projects.
