Danish company Furnipart has released a range of new sustainable handles at London Design Festival which is taking place from 18-26 September 2021. The company has chosen not one, but two, paths towards more sustainable production methods.
Furnipart sees these developments as just the beginning, and they are continually in pursuit of sustainable products and production methods, from conception all the way to installation.
Back in 2017, CEO Rasmus Byriel was introduced to the Cradle-to-Cradle Certified® Product Standard; an international certification standard which focusses on increasing the life cycle of all products by introducing them into a continuous loop, ensuring they become a reusable resource after initial use.
“The main idea behind the Cradle-to-Cradle standard appealed to me – both then and now – as all aspects concerning the production are being evaluated. We experienced an increased demand by our customers for documentation about everything, from the handling of components and waste, and as most of our handles are meant for the export markets, it was crucial to us to find an internationally renowned standard,” Rasmus Byriel tells.
The Cradle-to-Cradle Certified® Product Standard fits the bill perfectly. The result is a certification at Bronze level of all the company’s chrome and anodised aluminium profiles, but the journey doesn’t stop there.
“The current certification means that approximately 40% of our range is Cradle-to-Cradle certified. Our next step involves working on a certification for our Zamac handles, which would increase our full range certification to approximately 80%,” says Rasmus Byriel.
Cradle-to-Cradle certification is the company’s first step on the journey of improved sustainability. Furnipart is continually excited and open to all opportunities that allow for a more sustainable production, which is how the use of a new material came about in their production; ironically, a material which isn’t new at all.
“We started making plastic handles back in the 70s, and since then we have been looking for a way to use this material again on the condition that it does not have a negative impact on the environment.”
The results of this research are two handles in the re-used material OCEANIX, which is a plastic granulate from the Danish company PLASTIX. OCEANIX is based on post-use and obsolete input streams collected from the maritime industry, such as fishing nets, ropes and trawls.
Rasmus Byriel concludes by saying “We know that our handles in OCEANIX will not save the planet, but our hope is that the small steps we take will resonate within the industry and prove that things can be done differently, sooner rather than later”.
For more information, visit furnipart.com
A selection of Furnipart handles is available from
Nover: visit nover.com.au/
Wilson & Bradley: visit wilbrad.com.au
