We’re honoring our commitment to reducing waste as members of the Good Future Design Alliance. Last week we covered how we can employ waste reduction strategies during the later phases of design. Today, lets shift gears and talk about our commitment to sustainability and planning ahead.

Part of reducing waste is committing to not creating it in the first place, and we’re not just talking physical waste here either - we’re also talking about resources such as energy.

During the planning phase of design we place value on incorporating energy efficient measures such as high quality windows and doors and occupancy sensors.

We purchase from sustainably minded vendors who have proven their worth over time by providing us with quality and transparency time and again.

When making selections, we plan for longevity by choosing pieces that are well built and timeless. We specify as many sustainably grown and harvested materials as possible. Those materials typically easily break down into the earth at the end of their useful life. It just so happens that some of those materials are also beautiful and rugged. Wool is an excellent example, especially used in rugs. Due to wool’s coarse and springy nature - it repels moisture and is hard to crush, which means that rugs maintain their beauty and plushness underfoot for a long time.

When we need really high performance, we often select rugged manmade materials that are not easily destroyed in short order by kids, dogs, and life’s everyday accidents; which means that those materials are less likely to end up in the landfill in a few years time.

If you missed any of this series, make sure to check them out on this page.