Working towards Sustainability in Design

At Kirkby Design we recognise the need to limit our impact on the environment and we understand that there is an increasing need for products with a sustainable life cycle. We know that becoming eco-friendly is a large task and so we are making steps towards this by improving things where we can. A growing number of products in our collections are eco-certified or incorporate recycled and sustainable yarns. Many fabrics are also fully recyclable, meaning they can be repurposed for future use.

Products

REACH Compliance

The Romo Group requires all suppliers to provide confirmation and where possible certification to ensure that ALL products supplied to us comply with REACH regulations. REACH is a European Union regulation concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals and relates to the manufacture of consumer products.

By identifying the dangers and managing the risks, REACH aims to provide a high level of protection of human health and the environment through controlling and monitoring the use of chemicals. REACH is an evolving regulation with regular developments to restrict new chemicals that have a negative impact on human health or the environment. Because of this, our suppliers must continuously ensure they find REACH compliant ways to manufacture our products.

Whilst REACH is an EU regulation, we require ALL our suppliers, including those from non-EU countries, to comply with REACH regulations.

Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX

An increasing number of our products carry certification according to STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX. OEKO-TEX certificates confirm the human and ecological safety of textile products throughout all stages of production. Ensuring a confidence in textiles, STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX is one of the world’s best-known labels for textiles. Fabrics that carry the STANDARD 100 label have been tested for harmful substances and are therefore harmless in human ecological terms.

Products that carry the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX label are indicated in the back of our pattern books and listed below:

Recycled Yarns

Technological developments in fabric production are constantly improving and innovating, the use of recycled yarns in interior textiles is becoming more accessible. There are two types of recycled yarns that are used in the range; reconstituted yarns from the fashion industry, typically wool or cotton, and 100% PET recycled polyester yarns produced from waste plastic bottles.

Leaf II (Recycled Wool) Wave (PET Recycled Plain) Flow (PET Recycled Weaves)

Whilst working closely with various suppliers, we continue to explore new yarn developments to see where recycled yarns can be incorporated into future products.

To give assurance of environmental standards, our recycled fabrics are woven with yarns that carry the following accreditations:

ECO-PATH Certified

We have recently introduced products with ECO-PATH Certification. ECO-PATH is a certification that tests and analyses the entire supply chain from yarn to finished product, paying special attention to environmental and human health.

Collections with ECO-PATH certification: Flow

U Trust/Repreve Certification

Our new sustainable launch includes fabrics that have been granted U Trust/ Repreve certification which proves the traceability of the recycled yarn throughout the supply chain.

Collections with U Trust/Repreve certification: Wave

GRS Certified

Most recently, we have introduced fabrics woven from yarns that carry ‘The Global Recycled Standard’ (GRS). The GRS is an international, voluntary, full product standard that verifies the recycled content of products and intends to verify responsible social, environmental and chemical methods in their production.

Collections using GRS certified yarns: Leaf II and Flow

Sustainable Yarns

We are working to introduce more sustainable yarns into our collections to further reduce our impact on the environment. The new Fleck Eco collection is woven with Tencel lyocell, a sustainable yarn that originates from fast growing eucalyptus trees. Like viscose, Tencel lyocell is derived from wood cellulose - natural polymers present in vegetative living cells. The Tencel lyocell fibre is obtained from eucalyptus trees grown by companies certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The wood is sourced from forests in Austria, Czech Republic, USA, South Africa and Sweden. The wood pulp is produced in biorefineries where the energy contained in the wood is also used to power a large proportion of the facilities, making the biorefineries almost completely self-sufficient. Any water used in production is purified in efficient wastewater treatment plants.

Collections using sustainable yarns: Fleck Eco

Circular in Nature

Many of our products are fully recyclable and therefore circular in nature. Customers wanting to recycle fabrics should contact their nearest refuse and recycling centre or local textile bank. Any fabrics that can be reused will be filtered out and sent to appropriate charities whilst fabrics that cannot be reused will be recycled.

UK only: Visit www.recyclenow.com to find your local textile recycling bank.

Outside the UK: Please check with your local authority to find your nearest textile recycling facilities.

The Romo Group Head Office Operating with the Environment in Mind

Waste Management

At our head office and warehouse facility in Nottinghamshire, UK, we work with a local waste management and recycling business to recycle as much of our waste as possible. At present around 95% of waste generated at our head office facilities is recycled.

Currently the company sorts and compacts all cardboard and the remaining general waste is sent to a complex recycling plant that includes both mechanical and hand sorting to ensure the highest recycle rate.

Greener Choices

Our commitment to the environment has also influenced how we approach other aspects of the business including our head office café. Wherever possible, any single-use plastic packaging has been replaced with eco-friendly and biodegradable packaging alternatives.

Our landscaped outdoor area offers a generous open space planted with areas of wildflowers, trees and pollinator-friendly plants that not only benefit our staff but help support local wildlife and biodiversity.

Print

Our printed stationery and marketing materials are printed on recycled or FSC sourced materials wherever possible. Many of our launch brochures are printed using mineral free, vegetable oil-based inks.

Packaging

Whilst it is necessary to wrap our parcels in plastic packaging to protect our goods during transit, we have now introduced a 100% recycled plastic wrap that is also fully recyclable. This new packaging is classed as low-density polyethylene (LDPE) 4, which can be recycled at specialist recycling centres that recycle soft plastics such as plastic shopping bags and bin-liners.

UK only: Visit www.recyclenow.com to find your local textile recycling bank.

Outside the UK: Please check with your local authority to find your nearest textile recycling facilities.

The Future

We are committed to continuously pushing the boundaries of design, whilst recognising our environmental responsibilities and working to improve the sustainability of our products. We are currently researching more eco-friendly FR treatments and hope to be able to offer a broader range of eco-friendly treatment options in the future.

As we take positive steps to improve and reduce our environmental impact, we will continue to review our processes and set new goals for the future.

We will continue to step towards a greener way of working.