Can you be sustainable with your Furniture and Appliances on a budget?

Want to be more sustainable in your office or home, but not sure where to start? Check out these smart ideas to become more sustainable in your office on a budget:

Switch off at the plug! – Appliances, turned to standby still require energy, particularly for maintaining the appliance’s “sleep” status. Not only will you help the environment, you’ll save on your energy bills – an average of £80 a year for a household so imagine what your company could save at the office!

Buy second-hand furniture – Second-hand desks and chairs is a great way to be more sustainable, these days you can buy refurbished items that look brand new and reduces the price point significantly! You can even pick furniture up for free sometimes on Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace.

Sustainable / Local Suppliers – Source your furniture from affordable sustainable suppliers who display the furniture’s carbon footprint. Are all of the furniture’s parts recyclable? Are they all made in your country? Some manufacturers boast that they manufacture their items in the UK (our country) yet they import most of the furniture’s parts from far away countries!

Loose Furniture– Use items that can be easily transferred from another building or to another room when it comes to the end of its life/purpose. Try using loose storage cupboards instead of fitted units which would need to be ripped out and might end up going to landfill at the end of its life.

Upcycling – Did you know that you can vinyl wrap almost any furniture surface which would completely change the look and feel, you could upcycle an item and save around 90% of the cost of buying something else new, prolonging the life of the furniture and keeping up to date with the latest trends. New kitchen = £4k+, vinyl wrapped between £40-£400 = No brainer?! Check out these before and afters…

Low Chemical Emissions – Has your product been GREENGUARD Certified? If so, this means that it has been tested and scientifically proven to have low chemical emissions and is guaranteed to give off only low levels of volatile organic compounds, or VOC’s.

Made from Recycled Materials – always check if there’s a sustainable option for what you’re about to buy new. E.g. instead of a standard carpet or upholstery, did you know that you can get textiles and fabrics that are made out of recycled plastics?!

Sustainable Swaps – Bamboo is a highly sustainable plant and is becoming an increasingly popular substitute for plastic and paper, due to it being fast growing and Change plastic coffee cups to a bamboo coffee cup, swap plastic toothbrushes to bamboo ones. Pens, pencils, cotton buds, there are so many items that we could switch out reduce our waste and carbon footprint.

There is now more than ever emphasis on sustainability within the workplace.

At Apteriors, we are committed to pushing for sustainable design choices.

We have a wide range of ideas and suppliers with sustainable products ready to design for a more sustainable & eco friendly future.

Sustainability doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t have to compromise on functionality or style! Contact Apteriors to start your sustainable journey in your in your space.

Images: Wrap My Kitchen

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