We aim to be as green as we can in terms of the products we supply and the way we work with clients. And we thought we’d share our latest change with you …
As we shared in our blog on World Environment Day we aim to make the greener choice with eco-products, renewable fibres, our carbon footprint and reducing waste.
We know that plastics are used in a huge variety of ways – and we know that plastics cause a lot of problems when they are not disposed of correctly because of the length of time they take to break down.
There are ways of recycling some plastics – we have an eco-chair in our showroom made from plastic bottles but there are other ways we can help.
Here’s a few (shocking) facts about plastics that we discovered recently:
- Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years alone.
- Production of plastic increased exponentially, from 2.3 million tons in 1950 to 448 million tons by 2015. Production is still expected to double by 2050.
- Every year, about 8 million tonnes of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations. That’s the equivalent of setting five garbage bags full of trash on every foot of coastline around the world.
- Plastics often contain additives making them stronger, more flexible, and durable. But many of these additives can extend the life of products if they become litter, which means the plastic can take at least 400 years to break down.
How do we use plastic bags?
We use polythene bags to protect chairs and other items during delivery so we wanted to look into a way that we could still ensure chairs were delivered in great condition – but in a way that was more sustainable.
What change did we make?
The bags we now use when delivering chairs are biodegradable polythene – manufactured using an additive named ‘Deg 68‘, this additive enabled our supplier to add a biodegradable form of polythene to their range – one which we immediately switched to and are now using with all of our products.
So how does it make a difference (the science bit!)?
The additive has been developed and used for many years in the agricultural market – enabling the plastics to degrade in the ground once ploughed into the soil without leaving any harmful chemicals.
The additive starts to be activated when exposed to UV light over a long period of time, the process of degradation is slow but will rapidly enhance once the product is put into the ground and starts to degrade.
After a few years of breaking down in the ground, the end products of the biodegrading process will be Carbon Dioxide, mineral materials and water.
It means that we continue to do all we can to be as green as we can. What change are you going to make in your business to do your bit for the environment?
