Environment

Doing our best to minimise our environmental footprint…

Our business model requires us to import products from Indonesia – the skills and raw materials required do not exist in Europe. So our job is to minimise our environmental impact within the constraints of this model.

Weaving materials

The seagrass grows locally in lakes and streams (and not in the ocean as its English name implies); it is harvested by local people for use in craft and furniture products.

Rattan is a type of vine which grows abundantly on the trees of the Indonesian tropical rainforests. Indonesia is in fact the main country in the world where rattan is grown and harvested.

The banana fibre comes from the stems or leaves which surround the trunk of the banana tree; these are peeled off the tree and plaited into a fibre which is both strong and beautiful. In its natural form, the fibre ranges in colour from yellow through green to brown. They are also bleached to create the attractive pale colour you see in our Kartosuro range. The banana trees are cut down each year after they have fruited (they grow again very quickly), and these leaves are a freely-available by-product.

Wood

Tommy’s partner (Tri) who owns and runs the wood factory producing most of our wood-based items is amongst the first people in Indonesia to have received Government training and accreditation in wood sourcing and certification.

We have chosen Mindi as our main wood type, for its attractive colour and grain. It is a fast growing native tree from Java Indonesia. It is not yet available as an eco-labelled product because (unlike teak and mahogany) it has never been the object of deforestation. However we are actively looking into the possibility of getting an eco-label or FSC certification for this raw material.

For the table tops of the Jogya and Kartosuro ranges we are using locally-sourced Indonesian pine, which is strong and relatively fast-growing.

Textiles

We started off with a European cotton/linen product which is still our main fabric choice. However we are expanding our range of fabrics to include fairtrade cotton and organic materials, as well as some beautiful hand-woven cottons which are produced in India on a Fair Trade basis.

Transport

We avoid air freight on all shipments except urgent samples or prototypes. We are investigating the possibility of offsetting our sea-freight carbon footprint.

All air travel by our team members is carbon-offset, and we are trying to organise our visits to Indonesia so that they are as time and fuel-efficient as possible.

UK suppliers

We have switched our electricity supply to Ecotricity, use the Green Stationery Company for office supplies, and look for other opportunities to buy fairtrade and organic products for our business usage. We also cycle to work !