No other country produces furniture as sustainably as Sweden. This finding has been shown in the new sustainability report from Dodds & Shute
In terms of responsible manufacturing of furniture, brands from Sweden produce the most sustainable products and are thus unchallenged ahead of the European competition from Germany, England or Italy. This is the conclusions drawn by Nick Shute and Stefan Dodds in this year's sustainability report.
Design should become more social, ecological and sustainable
The two creatives from Dodds & Shute are constantly on the lookout for social, ecological and sustainable design products. Hence the demanding agenda of their furniture platform for architects and designer is: "To turn the world race for the better through responsible design". The findings from their in-depth analysis show that this is more than wishful thinking:
Over three years they have assessed the production of around 130 international furniture brands in terms sustainability. Dodds & Shute has surveyed all brands and suppliers, which they offer on their own platform. In result, around 85% of the surveyed companies have answered. The founders assume that companies with a pending response are not willing to disclose information about their production standards.
The survey questions were based on five criteria
- Sustainability guidelines (governance)
- Origin of the materials (materials)
- Production methods and locations (production)
- Labor standards (people)
- Innovation (innovation)
Source & Copyright by Dodds & Shute
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The Sustainability report is supposed to give the topic more importance
The cross-generational problem of “sustainability” is often discussed and proclaimed by designers and architects, but often falls victim to a lack of resources and is therefore ignored. Dodds & Shutes counteract this fact of insignificance through precise and transparent methods. Their study shows what a significant influence the short life of furniture and accessories can have on the environmental accounting of a building
Key facts from the Dodds & Shute Sustainability Report
1. Swedish furniture brands are leading in terms of sustainability
The top 10 sustainable companies are dominated by seven furniture brands from Sweden. First place went to Edsbyn, Minus Tio was in second place followed by German manufacturer Zeit. Flokk and Johansen and Lintex - latter ones are also from Sweden.
In the country ranking, Sweden is in first place overall (score: 1), followed by Germany (score: 92), UK (score: 81), Italy (score: 69) and Spain (score: 68). Denmark comes last with a score of 67.
Source & Copyright by Dodds & Shute
2. Local production as a decisive criteria
Local production is a success factor for Swedish companies: around 97% of Swedish brands source their materials and operate their production facilities within a radius of no more than 450 miles. Followed by Italian companies with 300 miles. Furniture brands from Germany and the UK are lagging behind, with an average distance of over 1000 miles in terms of production and material origin.
The country's existing infrastructure therefore plays a major role. For Dodds & Shute, local production has numerous advantages: Low CO2 footprints, the promotion of local economies and communities, preserving tradition as well as maintaining high quality and work standards.
Source & Copyright by Dodds & Shute
3. Designers play an important role
The report also shows top designers with whom the sustainable companies work together. Accordingly, designers can put pressure on unsustainable producers by preferringsustainable brands for their collaborations.
Source & Copyright by Dodds & Shute
Information transparency brings responsibility
Previously fundamental design questions about aesthetics, costs and functionality bothered the two founders for a long time. They see their responsibility in a profound change in the thinking of designers and architects. This enables them to rethink their craft and act ecological responsibility. By this way, design turns into a process for conscious decisions taking and rethinking what we put into our lives.
The result of their study is also reflected on their own platform. Dodds & Shute offers the possibility to filter products by "sustainability criteria": These include, for example, sustainability standards, production locations, recycled materials, FSC certificate, VOC content or criteria of circular economy. This research should help designers to find suitable products more easily, to achieve more responsible goals faster, in order to ultimately realise sustainable projects.
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