Waste Not, Want Not

For our local designer-maker partners, sustainability is not just a buzzword, it is at the core of their manufacturing process

educe, reuse, recycle. Many of

Rus are familiar with the “three Rs” that are largely considered to be an effective way for each of us to help save natural resources, protect the environment and save money. Although “recycling” is arguably the most well-known of the three because of marketing campaigns around recycling initiatives and the ubiquitous recycling logo, it is the two Rs that precede it that environmental protection agencies say are the most effective.

First, we reduce the amount of waste we create as well as the amount of raw material we extract from the Earth, and, second, we reuse material we already have rather than discard it. Should this not be possible, then we recycle. It is this kind of environmentally conscious thinking that informs the practices of many of our designer-makers when it comes to waste reduction.

TEXT MALIBONGWE TYILO PHOTOGRAPHS JUSTIN PATRICK; SUPPLIED

PUT A CORK IN IT!

“One of the most important aspects when it comes to sustainability is obviously the use of sustainable materials,” says Laurie Wiid van Heerden, founder of Wiid Designs. The award-winning design studio is renowned for its use of cork, a sustainable material that doesn’t require the cutting down of trees as it is sourced from regenerative bark of the cork oak tree. “The cork we use is also recycled material from the wine industry and the harvesting industry,” Laurie says.

But that’s not where the studio’s “reduce and reuse” cycle ends. It also takes the offcuts from its manufacturing process, grinds and mixes these with a binder to repurpose them into new material it can use for other products.

“There was a project at the end of last year where they took all my cork, recycled it, added a binder and then cast an outdoor floor for kids at the Sustainability Institute in Stellenbosch. So now, basically, the children can play on a recycled cork surface that is obviously very soft, eco-friendly and very tactile,” says Laurie.

He also emphasises the importance of quality and durability in design-making.

‘Sustainability in furniture is also about providing products that last, that are not pieces you might throw away in the next two years. They’re timeless, original pieces and not necessarily expensive’

Wiid Design creates collectable contemporary design from cork and other sustainable materials OPPOSITE Laurie Wiid van Heerden in Portugal to source cork

ABOVE Weavers in Malawi make baskets from palm leaves BELOW Mina lampshades designed by STAC in Nando's Beckenham, UK OPPOSITE Kamari lampshades

RAGS TO RICHES

Ashanti Design has been around for almost 18 years, and it has been creating fabric-based products for the past 12 years, all of which are made using offcuts from the fashion industry.

A few years ago, the company calculated how many meters of this fabric it had cut in a year, and it came to about 19.6 million metres. “And that’s all fabric that would have been sent to a landfill,” says Ashanti Design founder Robert Walker.

Beyond the focus on large-scale waste reduction, Ashanti presents a business model that ensures all its operations adhere to the three pillars of sustainability, which are the environmental, social and economic. To this end, the company also works with artisans throughout Southern Africa to produce hand-woven pieces such as baskets and lampshades.

“We have spent many years working with these communities to develop our unique range. The weavers grow and harvest all their materials, consisting of palm leaf, bamboo, reed and raffia, and create woven magic with these wildly grown plant species. And they’re 100% hand-woven, using traditional plaiting techniques to achieve a loose weave,” says Rob.

“We work with rural artisans throughout Southern Africa — primarily in Madagascar, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Kenya — to create commercial opportunities for existing skills,” he adds. Ashanti Design also has facilitators in different countries, who then work with the artisans.

‘We don’t work through NGOs and we make sure to work transparently with all designers and weavers. Everything we make is hand-woven and we use sustainable materials. There’s no chopping down of trees or chopping down of any materials that cannot be regrown’ — Rob Walker, Ashanti Design

INSPIRED BY WASTE

“We take the road less travelled when it comes to sustainability,” says Luke Pedersen, co-founder of Cape Town’s Pedersen + Lennard. Its furniture is largely made from hardwoods, which it imports.

“The South African climate isn’t right for growing hardwoods that grow very well,” he explains. The studio imports its hardwood from the US where the colder climate results in better quality timber.

“That timber is going to outlast anything that we would have been able to get locally,” Luke says. “A lot of people might oversimplify and think that because the timber is from South Africa, that makes it more sustainable. But my argument is that if you’re putting all of the effort and cost into designing, producing, transporting and packaging, then you want something that’ll last for generations. So although the timber is imported, it will be around for generations, which makes it more sustainable than locally sourced timber that might not last.”

The studio has produced items that come from this focus on waste reduction, such as a bird feeder that was designed as part of a design challenge last year, as well as a bedside lamp that was inspired by the need to use waste material.

“When you look at the product, it doesn’t look cheaper. This is more about an approach to try and think of ways to use the material while it’s still on the machine. Our process is very digital — most of our machines are completely computerised — and that that allows us to be very efficient with our waste. We can cut far more pieces out of a piece of wood before it gets discarded.”

OPPOSITE Pedersen + Lennard believes there is value in using quality materials that will last for generations

Offcuts are laminated to create new pieces, such as the Strata lamp BELOW Luke chisels out Isintu spoons that will be hand finished by MacGyver

‘I spend a lot of my time just walking around the factory, looking at all the pieces of waste that are coming off the machines, working out what to do with them. So much creativity can be born out of the decision to use things and not to waste them’

‘We don’t want to keep buying new materials. We’re just trying to find ways to reduce our waste instead of just throwing it away. So we try and use the offcuts to inspire other designs’

Candice Lawrence, founder of lighting and homeware brand Modern Gesture, always considers wastage when working on new designs. Modern Gesture’s latest light fixtures continue its Ndebele jewelleryinspired aesthetic, albeit in more muted colours, while also reflecting the designer’s commitment to sustainable design and manufacturing. Each of the lights was designed to make use of leftover material from some of their best-selling designs.

“We don't want to keep buying new materials. We’re just trying to find ways to reduce our waste instead of just throwing it away. So we try and use the offcuts to inspire other designs,” says Candice.

Some of Modern Gesture’s new wooden pendants, which are available from its online shop, are a result of this effort to reduce and reuse. These include the B-Hive, a wall sconce made out of birch wood in an elongated dome shape, as well as the strikingly carved Fountain pendant, which, at 77 centimeters, is nearly a meter long.

“That’s how we become more creative and challenge ourselves, because the offcuts are not straightforward pieces of wood like you would get if you bought from a supplier. It’s about using odd shapes and giving them life,” explains Candice. “We don’t buy anything extra, we don’t go to a scrapyard — we use our own offcuts to inspire new designs. For example, when we cut our woven lampshade, which is one of our biggest sellers, then we’ll use the offcuts from that light for the Fountain light or our Column light.”

For Candice, reusing the wood is part of the journey towards a design and manufacturing process that puts environmental sustainability at the centre of her practice. “It’s all those little things, you know, like … we use water-based varnish and we don’t throw away our leftover wax cord. Instead, we melt it together again, and then we carry on weaving with that.” o

Candice Lawrence with her Woven Necklace lights that grace Nando's casas around the world OPPOSITE Modern Gesture uses offcuts to create laminated wooden decor pieces. These were exhibited at Decorex and Nando's HYD retrospective exhibition at Spier curated by Tracy Lynch/ Clout/SA. Pattern by Zinhle Sithebe, painted by Ilukuluku