3 Ways We’re Making Our Brand & Products More Sustainable

As a part of the furniture industry, we have a huge responsibility to minimize our environmental impact. Sustainability has been at the core of our brand since it was founded, and it continues to be at the forefront of our design process as the brand grows.

By choosing a flat-pack sofa, over a fixed frame equivalent, you’re already reducing your carbon footprint. How? Because we can fit and transport many more units in a truck if the sofa is in a box. It’s also easier for us to replace any broken or damaged parts individually, rather than the whole sofa which can be wasteful.

However, we know we’re not perfect and we still have a long way to go. We’re always reviewing ways we can be better and we want to be transparent about our sustainability journey so far and share the challenges we face balancing good quality, long-lasting products with sustainability, and the actions we’ve already initiated.

1. Sustainable Fabrics

We’re always looking for alternative planet-friendly materials; however, we can’t just use a material because, on paper, it’s more sustainable; a more sustainable material might not last 15- 20 years of heavy use. It’s important that whilst we strive to create sustainable products, we’re also committed to making top quality products. The best way to limit the impact of a product is to make sure it has longevity as fast furniture is a thing of the past. 

With that in mind, we currently offer three fabrics that are 100% recycled: Cotton, Wool and Eco-Velvet. With these sustainable materials you don’t have to compromise on quality as they’ve been tried and tested by experts. All of our products are also made using responsibly sourced wood.

2. Recyclable Packaging 

We want to ensure that when your Swyft product arrives, the packaging is made from 100% recyclable materials - easier said than done. Most of our packaging is cardboard, which has a self-locking design, so no glues or staples were used in its construction. That  means it can go straight into recycling without having to have staples removed. All protective infills are made from cardboard, rather than polystyrene. And in order to protect the cushions and fabric during transit we have had to use recycled plastic. 

3. Cutting Down On Material Waste

Regarding material waste, we try to minimize this as much as possible, and our factory is committed to finding solutions to tackle this. Foam waste is one of the ways we do this; we crumble it, and use  it as cushion filling for the Model 04 back cushions. Our Model 06 sofa has manufacturing techniques that allow it to be stripped back at the end of its life for recycling purposes. With each new product we develop, we try to make it easier to recycle items when it’s at the end of its life. 

Our small team is always looking for new ways to expand our sustainability goals and is open to discussing how we can achieve them. We’d love to hear your thoughts on how we can be better. Drop us an email or comment below.