01604 495 151
sales@collingwoodgroup.com collingwoodlighting.com
ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLNESS
17 for the planet. My hope is that technology
and innovation will provide us with amazing
alternatives for future products.

Before we get out our pompoms ready for
a cheer, I think it’s important to get out our
magnifying glass and look at the details in
full. While we should celebrate the use of
recycled plastics, we need to remember
that just because a product employs a
recycled element does not make it the
Holy grail for the planet. Many of the toted
“environmentally friendly” products still have
a lot of unfriendly features that vendors are
less keen to discuss.

A truly green item needs to consider a lot
more than just its ability to recycle a waste
item. Where many green products come
unstuck is in the processing and logistics
carbon footprint. For example, soft furnishing
fabrics and recycled products fall below
par on their green credentials because of
their use of harmful dyes, alongside the
deconstruction processing which uses
harmful chemicals and excessive heat. To
add to this processing generally utilises vast
amounts of water which becomes waste. As
if to add insult to injury, many have a terrible
carbon footprint with recycled items being
flown from one location, to be processed in
another, and woven in yet another and then
finally delivered to the locations around the
world. While finding solutions to one waste problem
is commendable, it is harder to rubber
stamp or justify these efforts when new
problems in another area of environmental
concern are caused. It is an end-to-end
environmental solution that envelops a truly
Green product, and companies who can
comply with this comprehensive approach to
friendly products need to be encouraged and
potentially funded to fuel the development.

Perhaps future Green products need to
be government regulated and approved
so that they may be coded to effectively
communicate the level of environmental
consideration they have in all aspects
from design to consumer. Afterall, even the
government inadvertently adds to some of
the non-green features such as the coatings
required on fabrics for fire guard.

There is hope!
I don’t want you to be too discouraged by
my recent explorations. While there were
fewer solutions and products than what I was
hoping to find …, there were also some very
positive signs. The fact is, ten years ago no
one was taking the time to promote GREEN.

Now having a Green platform is seen as an
essential part of a company ethos. To me,
this suggests that in future we will see more
dedication towards the development of truly
amazing environmentally positive products
that are sustainable and responsible –
beyond just the surface promotion of a
singular product offer.

Awareness The fact that most vendors are aware that
GREEN is the demand the market is after
means that they also know this is the way
forward. It suggests that they are investing
not just in marketing, but we should assume
they are also investing in developing better
green technologies, processes and ultimately
products. Changing any industry (no less
an aesthetic one) is often slow and it can be
costly. Preferential products and demand for
them are the key to making the fastest shifts.

Vendors will move their offer to where the
money is being spent, and so the more
clients with Green principles willing to put the
money behind their planet friendly intent, the
more products we will see come forward. In
this, it is a combination of factors to consider,
but as we see the climate change we are
aware that Green products are a need and
not a want.

What can you do?
To you, I say…”keep diving deeper and
beyond the green product being promoted
to you, look at its development and planet
credentials (processing and the logistics
journey). Want more than just a label, want
to know what it has gone through to morph
into its latest iteration. Keep looking and
demanding “Green” and hopefully the next
Design-led show I search through will yield
some market leading results that I can share
with you on the next design brief.