While sustainability is certainly a trending topic at the moment — and for good reason — it is far more than a trendy hashtag. Making sustainable choices in our everyday lives includes everything from the way we make our coffee (looking at you, coffee pods) to how we commute to work, the food we buy, and the way we use water. Choosing climate over comfort is a huge topic, but there are changes we can make each day to reduce our impact on the planet — especially in the home. Creating a sustainable home doesn’t need to be a challenge, sometimes it just takes finding the right items.
What is Sustainability?
Many interpret sustainability as giving up our comforts to preserve the environment for future generations. However, the UN World Commission on Environment and Development provides a richer understanding of the term: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Many organizations working to combat climate change see sustainability as an integration of three factors: environmental health, economic vitality, and social equity. By working to integrate these three factors, we can create healthy, diverse, and thriving communities.
With this understanding, we see that sustainable practices should use our world’s resources wisely in order to protect social, economic, and environmental health. It is about how we treat our natural environment and resources today in order to “maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations.”
Creating a sustainable home isn’t so much about denying ourselves creature comforts as it is about becoming more aware of how we use our resources. This applies to simple things, like how much water we use. It also applies to more complex issues such as the way our favorite products are produced — the materials they use, their impact on the environment, and where they end up. When we transition the way we view sustainability, we begin to see how the products we bring into our home matter.
Sustainable Home Goods
Sustainability in the home begins with small changes to those things we use every day. We’ve listed five of our favorite sustainable home products to help you get started making your home more environmentally friendly.
Bamboo Cutting Boards
Bamboo is one of the most earth-friendly materials to add to your home. Unlike other wood, bamboo grows rapidly — and without the need for copious amounts of water. The ability to harvest and regrow bamboo makes it a great resource for many different home products.
Bamboo cutting boards are a hugely popular choice for the home. Unlike plastic boards, bamboo does not develop grooves that can harbor bacteria. Naturally anti-microbial properties also make it a fan-favorite material for the surface where so much of your food is prepped.
Acacia Serveware
Instead of building up a collection of serving plates and platters that are specific to a single holiday or season, acacia provides the perfect material for quality, attractive serveware to be used year-round. Like bamboo, acacia grows more rapidly than other tree varieties. Acacia grows to maturity every 15 to 30 years — rather than 100 to 300 years as we see with oak. While it is native to parts of Africa and Australia, many types of acacia are now grown all over the world. Harvesting acacia won’t deplete life-sustaining trees in one specific region.
Our Acacia serveware offers a durable and stunning addition to any kitchen or event. Rather than add items to the home that are only used once or twice a year, your acacia serveware can be utilized every day of the year, making a beautiful addition to any party spread.
Silicone Utensils
Finding the right cooking utensils to protect your favorite pans can be challenging. Bamboo utensils are a great option, as are silicone favorites like these spatulas and serving spoons. One of our favorite qualities of silicone is that it does not release microplastics into the environment or your food (as do the plastic counterparts). Also, when cared for properly it can last for decades. This means fewer replacements are needed and fewer items end up in our landfills.
Cork Planters
If you’re anything like us, you have a few (or a lot) of old, unused planters stored away. Instead of collecting another set of plastic tubs this season, consider putting your favorite house plants in a more sustainable option. Our cork planters are a beautiful way to display both indoor and outdoor plants. But the best part is what happens when you’re tired of your cork planters, ready to repot your plant, or have simply used the planter to the end of its life. Cork can be composted at home, right there with your fruit and veg scraps and your coffee grounds. Instead of adding to the landfill, your choice to use cork helps build a more sustainable world — and a sustainable home.
Bamboo Lunchbox
This bamboo lunchbox makes lunchtime prep both fun and sustainable. Made from bamboo fibre, these bento-box style beauties are fantastic for kids’ school lunches and work lunches or weekends on the go. We love bamboo fibre because it shares all the same sustainable qualities as traditional bamboo while also adding a little fun and flare to your home. Who says creating a sustainable home needs to be boring?
Creating a Sustainable Home
Whether you’re looking for ways to help make your customers’ homes more sustainable, or you’re simply seeking ideas your customers will love, we have a wide selection of quality home products to meet your needs. Our goal as a designer, manufacturer, and supply chain management company is to make it easier for you to find — or create — sustainable, healthy, beautiful products. These five products are just a small sampling of the items we can customize for your brand so that everyone you serve can build a healthier more sustainable home.