The instruction for Earth Day 2023: “Take action. Be a part of the green revolution. Act boldly, innovate broadly, and implement equitably.” This trio is intrinsic to our ethos at NaughtOne.
As a team, we work to be sustainable in every area of our business, from the decisions we make as individuals on a day-to-day basis, right through to our longer-term strategies. We know that real difference can be made at a granular level.
Ever was the first of our product lines designed with complete circularity in mind. This design mentality has also been applied to Penny, Sweep and Tier and will be applied to all future product lines. In the design process we opt for ethical and sustainable material choices, using a local supply of raw materials wherever possible. Our aim is to now design products for longevity and effectiveness, opting for dense foam sets, resilient fabrics and creating products that can be easily disassembled for recycling at the end of their useful life.
In the production process, our products are mainly assembled by hand, reducing the expenditure of energy created by machinery. Fabrics are cut efficiently to reduce wastage and every production site is equipped with recycling facilities.
In recent months, for two of our most popular product ranges, Always and Always Lounge chairs, we have localized production of products for the APMEA region, to China, to reduce transportation mileage and reduce carbon emissions per product. Over the next 18 months several more product lines will also follow suit.
Our products stand the test of time. We back this up with a 10-year warranty on all products and at the end of their life can be returned via our Take-Back Programme, where they will be broken down to either reuse or recycle their parts. In doing this, we reduce waste and help to ensure unwanted products don’t end up in landfill unnecessarily.
While we’re proud of our efforts in making our product lines sustainable, looking after the planet goes further than our products. Each year, the MillerKnoll group celebrates a Global Day of Purpose. Last year our Yorkshire teams gathered in residential areas of Leeds, UK, to pick up litter and tidy up the local area. The day was not only very much appreciated by members of the community, but the team also helped to remove a considerable amount of rubbish which was polluting the area. Our colleagues are also allocated two days annually in addition to their holiday entitlement to use for volunteering in a way that’s meaningful to them.
