Eco
Quietly Optimistic
We know we are part of a bigger picture and practice ethical ways, not just in creating our lights but also in how we treat each other in our company, with our collaborators and of course our customers. ‘It’s nice to be nice.’ We’re a young company and idealistic but we firmly believe that it’s not naive to want to be better, to want to do things in a new way (or maybe that means doing some things in a very old fashioned way). We may only be small now but we will grow and so will our efforts.
The Eco-Sensitive Nature Porcelain
Porcelain comes directly from the earth and is regarded as a highly eco-sensitive material. We do not apply glaze to our porcelain.
It is one of the most natural materials you can use in your home. Its life cycle is extremely long, if not as eternal as the earth itself, but should its use end, it returns to the earth with no toxicity or harmful properties.
Porcelain never rusts, never tarnishes. Its beautiful luminance will last a lifetime and beyond.
Porcelain is a low waste material. The clay slip is infinitely reusable even after it has hardened it can be dissolved back down by simply adding water. All excess material is cleaned from the products and returned to the slip before the firing process. On the rare occasion an object has not fired correctly it can be either ground down to fine dust with zero toxicity and returned to the earth or shattered into fragments and used in hardcore for building or irrigation for gardeners.
We Only Fire A Full Kiln
We use modern well-insulated electric kilns and only fire our porcelain when they are full. We responsibly manage our energy usage.
Eco Packaging
Our cardboard boxes are made from unbleached 100% recycled material and are 100% recyclable. Our packaging may look like ghastly polystyrene chips but they have much more in common with ‘Wotsits’, they are made from a 100% natural starch and dissolve into a completely non-toxic biodegradable substance on contact with water.
Keeping Traditional Craft Alive
Pottery skills are one of the most ancient of crafts and hand blown glass is another traditional craft that is diminishing. Our products will always be handmade and we hope in our small way to keep these skills alive.
Eco Bulbs
We only stock and sell the most energy-efficient LED Light bulbs.
A Small Business With Big Ambition
We are a small team at the moment with a family feel. Employees have and always will receive a fair wage. Our employees understand and support the values and sustainability goals that we strive for together. We have the ambition to be a larger employer of local talent.
Our Goals
We have started working with an Eco Consultant based in Finland and are adopting principles from the ‘Circular Economy.’ See our working details below.
What We Can Do Better
By far our biggest challenge is the energy resource required to fire the porcelain in a kiln at hundreds of degrees. This does, however, use significantly less energy than existing materials typically employed to create most existing lighting, such as; iron, steel, brass and copper.
Modern kilns are well insulated and power-efficient. We use electric kilns that can be supplied by clean energy providers.
With limitations at our current premises, we are looking at the logistics of switching to a clean energy supplier. In the meantime we continue to manage the use of our energy resources as efficiently and consciously as possible.
We believe in redefining ‘waste’ wherever possible and thinking of it in terms of ’resource’.
We hope our customers will hold on to our products forever, however, if they wish to part ways with our product, even years after purchase, we are working on a ‘buy back’ strategy for any of our used products. We truly believe in the ongoing value of the product and waste becoming resource.
We are collecting all our waste porcelain and are currently looking to partner with a local garden centre to offer the small amount of waste material we do have, to local gardeners for irrigation.
There is a small amount of waste from our wiring but this is one 100% recyclable and delivered to a recycling plant.
We currently use a rubber washer on porcelain lights that have a glass shade. The washer creates a cushion and it prevents any rattle between the glass and porcelain due to any potencual vibration. For example, vibrations caused on the floor above the ceiling where a pendant is installed. It is a high-temperature fire-safe material. We are looking to find a fully recyclable substitute and considering other methods of marrying the porcelain to the glass. Our lights are fully functional without the rubber washer and we do offer the option not to include it with the light.
Future Learning
We only use well established reputable suppliers. However, as part of our learning, we will be investigating as much as possible their own ethical practices and will strive to work only with those that have aligned values.
Raw materials, we will continue to research and experiment with local alternatives.
As we grow we would love to be completely self-sufficient in our electrical energy needs, through renewable self-contained sources.
We Welcome Your Help
If you have any suggestions on how we might improve, we would love to hear from you >
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