We’ve spoken at length about our commitment to social and environmental responsibility in previous forums. And we take this commitment very seriously.
“Ensuring we tread lightly on the earth is in fact, one of the core founding principles in our design practice.” Lyzadie
In 2019, the studio was delighted to be selected to be part of two high profile sustainability and change making forums: The Change for Good event in London and the 1.618 Paris Sustainability Luxury Network.
The 1.618 Paris network identifies actors of change and promotes innovative projects and products that are redefining the future. To be part of this international group not only brings our products and design philosophy to a broader global audience, but celebrates the commitment we have made to challenge the status quo on design. The network provides opportunities for our products to be front and centre in consumers minds, allowing not only a bigger reach, but an avenue for the artistry of our designs and their stories to create greater awareness of the delicate balance of our ecosystem. Being invited to be part of this innovation community is what dreams are made of.
Left: The Change For Good Event in November 2019, Top: The BLACKTREEFERNSidetable, Bottom: The ReLEATHEREDSideboard, Right: The FLOWRoundDiningtable and the WHITECLOUDPendant, 1.618 Paris.
But What Does Social And Environmental Responsibility Really Mean In Practice? How Do We Quantify Our Commitment To Sustainability And Socially Conscious Design? What Are We At LyZadie Design Studio Doing Day To Day To Ensure We Aren’t Paying Lip Service To Ideas Of Environmental And Social Stewardship?
At LyZadie Design Studio we have made five concrete commitments to ensure our social and environmental focus is unwavering. As we develop further collections, we will:
· Ensure our products are handcrafted locally. This means we not only support local makers and our local economy, but that we take care of where our supplies and makers come from. We can visit workshops, talk to our teams and know that they all work within ethical and environmentally efficient parameters at all times. It also means we can reduce the carbon footprint of our products.
· Use sustainable and recycled materials. Our first collection, The FLOW Collection, was centred around the use of rescued river timber. We wanted to highlight the beauty of New Zealand timber without reducing the tree cover of our beautiful landscape. This principle of careful stewardship within our production materials will continue with all our other collections. We reuse and recycle resources wherever possible, which helps to reduce energy usage, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce air and water pollution, reduces waste disposal and also reduces greenhouse gases emissions. And we are embarking on new adventures with sustainable products like Pinatex for future designs.
· Build to last. Using materials like timber, steel and brass means that our products will not only be sustainable and recyclable, but that they are well built and will stand the test of time reducing the need to consume more resources.
· Give back to our local and global community. A portion of the profits from our collections is allocated to assist in either social or environmental enterprises like Homeless No More Aotearoa and Forest and Bird New Zealand. These charities work tirelessly to improve the lives of some of our most vulnerable populations, both human and ecological. We believe it is an essential part of our business to be part of the bigger global community effecting change.
· Offset our carbon emissions where they are unavoidable. In the global marketplace we sometimes have to travel or ship our products overseas. We commit to supporting Trees That Count to offset any of those activities. This New Zealand organisation matches donated funds to community and professional groups planting trees across the country and has facilitated the planting of over 31,637,217 trees since its inception in 2016.
The TUICollection: An Example Of Those 5 Commitments:
An excellent example of putting our commitment to social and environmentally conscious design into practice is our latest work, the Tui Collection. It’s handcrafted locally by a number of makers using sustainable and recycled materials. The beautiful feathers are made from discarded bicycle inner tubes; attached to gorgeous Pinatex: an innovative natural biomaterial made from pineapple leaf fibre; and all mounted on rescued river Matai. A portion of the purchases from this collection is donated to Forest and Bird whose work has saved countless acres and species from extinction as they continue to advocate for better legislation and protections for our threatened species and places.
From top right to left: The TUIArmchair handcrafted in sustainable materials (rescued river Matai) in New Zealand, Kevin (maker at PLN Group), Pineapples: Pinatex is made from pineapple leaves – this new material covers our TUIArmchair, Ronja (maker of the feathers, made from discarded bicycle inner tubes).
From bottom right to left: The tui bird inspired this collection, Pinatex and bicycle inner tubes: sustainable materials, as a global brand we offset our carbon footprint by donating to Trees That Count, maker and business owner Andrew from Treology.
No products in the cart.