THE ETHICAL INTERIOR DESIGNER

By Selina Seesunkur

On 1 May 2019, the UK Parliament declared a Climate Change Emergency. This has caused a visible push in the production of more electric vehicles to help reduce CO2 emissions, an increase in the reduction and recycling of plastics, and a call to replace old boilers with more economical and environmentally friendly ones. But what does this mean for interior design?  Is it as easy as replacing a halogen light bulb for an LED, installing solar panels, or sending our old furniture to a recycling centre? Can designers and home owners do more?

A recent paper by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation entitled ‘Completing the Picture’, suggests that changes to the five key areas of cement, aluminium, steel, plastics, and food could eliminate almost half of the remaining emissions from the production of goods, or 9.3 billion tonnes of CO2 by 2050. This would be the equivalent of cutting current emissions from all transport to zero.  Furthermore, they argue that switching to the use of sustainable wood instead of polyethylene, and bamboo instead of steel, are also essential moves to further reduce our carbon footprint.

The Reuse Flat in East London, designed by Arboreal, is a good example of creative recycling as all the materials used were sourced from deconstruction sites. The project was to redesign the kitchen, dining, and living room space. The wall panelling and kitchen cabinets are made from reclaimed wood, with broken bricks, concrete and reclaimed wood used to construct the garden walls. Arboreal state that “22% of their materials from the existing site and a further 57% of materials were from reused sources such as the cotton insulation from jeans deposited in French clothes banks and the reclaimed wood floor produced using beams removed from an agricultural building in Orsova, Romania”.

Hard materials such as bricks, concrete, and wood are not the only items that can be used sustainably. Soft materials often used in fixtures and fittings are also going down this route. The Yorkshire based production company Camira have increased their use of recycled fabric, with their new fabric collection Rivet produced from recycled polyester and coming in 3 colourways. Organoid produces carbon neutral wallpaper, with a signature of press flowers, and all materials being sourced as locally as possible. The Italian company Dani claim that their leather lines now have zero impact, claiming that they have reduced their carbon emissions by 5% and, in order to compensate for any other CO2 produced, are taking part in a reforestation programme.  They also claim their processes are innovative and cleaner.

Consumers can also do their part by shopping responsibly and looking at the products and processes that go into making their furniture. We have seen a big movement towards knowing what is on your plate and how it got there. Equally we have seen clothing production questioned and subsequently sweat shops and child labour exposed. Both these areas have made great changes in the way food and clothing is produced, so why not question “what’s in your home”. How many of you have looked at a paint can and reviewed its content for toxins, and bought a different paint? When is the last time you donated a half used can of paint to Dulux’s Community Repaint, which provides unwanted paint pots to schools, charities and housing associations? According to Community Repaint, 387,000 litres of paint were saved in 2012 with 218,000 litres being redistributed to these institutions. Have you ever questioned how your cabinet was made or switched to shopping at a charity shop or re-use centre?  The possibilities are endless, so it’s up to us all to make a conscious decision to make those small changes and not solely rely on the bigger companies like car manufactures, housing developers or supermarkets making the changes for us.

Read more articles by Selina Seesunkur

I OBJECT TO MY DOG BEING TREATED LIKE AN OBJECT

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

IS EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE STILL IN FASHION?

MINDFUL FASHION - DO YOUR BIT

DON’T BE A BYSTANDER, THE COST OF BULLYING

SUSTAINABLE LOGISTICS IS NO LONGER A LUXURY

By Farah Asemi

As we are all trying to adjust to the new mode of life with Covid-19 and the pandemic, it has become painful for me as a business owner and environmentalist to witness the hardship suffered by so many people around the World. Covid-19 has completely overshadowed many other priorities such as pursuing a more environmentally friendly mode of life. Financial survival, well-being, finding the right vaccines, and social distancing have become practically everyone’s top concerns. Currently, the only silver lining for the environment is the cleaner air caused by the much lower use of hydrocarbons in cars, planes, and the manufacturing sector.

I started operating an eco-friendly last mile delivery logistics business using electric cargo bikes and electric vans in London nine months ago. Our ethos centres around affordable, competitive, first class professional delivery services whilst reducing air pollution through the replacement of diesel vans and lorries.

I have lived most of my adult life in North London. Every day the thought of fighting congested roads, which seem to be under constant construction, with 3-way and 4-way temporary traffic lights, made me want to cancel all my appointments in the city and simply stay home. Having realised that diesel engines, lorry and van traffic are the big culprits for city pollution and congestion, I decided it was high time to take some action. As a newcomer in the world of start-ups, I got talking to friends and family on how I could go about making a difference in an area I am very passionate about; a cleaner environment, less congested streets, and a professional operation.

I quickly realised that no university course can prepare you for starting and operating a business better than simply jumping into the deep end of the pool with my principles intact, so I have instilled the ecofleet ethos to include

• integrity (my number one priority),

• focus on what really matters,

• optimism,

• premium quality customer service, and

• Risk taking.

Covid-19 completely overshadowed the Earth Day celebrations this year. Yet I see many common threads between my environmental concerns, the pandemic, and Tsunami. When the Tsunami hit East Asia, it was quite sudden, with plenty of devastation and years of rebuilding. Covid-19 is lasting much longer and recovery from it will be even more painful. The environmental Tsunami has been ongoing for quite some time but as the impact is not sudden and visibly devastating, we seem to be ignoring it or putting it on the back burner for the next generation to deal with. I see our collective environmental malaise as a house with the gas cooker leaking without the occupants realising it because the leaking gas is odourless. All it takes is one struck match to blow up the house.

The alarming facts surrounding environmental impact, make me determined to continue my journey in the growth of ecofleet and other sustainable mobility solutions not only in London but across the UK. At the current rate, the number of delivery vehicles in major metropolitan cities will grow by 36% by 2030 as a result, emissions from delivery trucks will go up by 32%.

With 4 million parcels being delivered daily in London, an environmental disaster is real and inevitable with our current lifestyle as a global community. With the launch and future expansion of ecofleet into other markets I am trying to make a small difference towards eliminating pollution and congestion, but I believe everyone needs to pitch in to avert further destruction of our world. I have entrusted my family savings to this project and do expect to run it as growing enterprise when one day the name ecofleet will be synonymous with the best in last mile sustainable delivery. I do have sleepless nights, but my optimism and the wonderful people surrounding me give me the courage to move forward at full speed.

Farah Asemi, Founder & CEO ecofleet

Last mile delivery service: zero emission, efficient & sustainable

To learn more follow ecofleet on Facebook

THE EXTINCTION REBELLION'S STRATEGY IS EXTINCT AT BEST

By Ethan Thoburn

We all understand that the environment is one of the most pressing political issues in this day and age, which requires a reasonable, rational solution to the growing problem. However, the solution isn’t supergluing yourself to London Bridge or chaining yourself to Carriage Gates or even dancing around Parliament Square whilst bringing London to a standstill, which Extinction Rebellion (XR) feel is necessary as they appear to neglect the hard work of our government.

The current PM may be the greenest Tory there is since his time as Mayor of London where he introduced the first public bike hire scheme, fondly known as Boris Bikes saying he hoped them to be: “as popular and seen as much as the black cab and red double-decker buses”. Also, Mr Johnson cited plans during his Mayorship to rid London of all fossil fuel-powered cars by the year 2034, a whole six years before the year 2040 when diesel cars will be essentially banned. More recently, Boris Johnson also aired his disagreement with President Trump for withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. Environment Secretary, Theresa Villiers’ progressive policy idea offers tax relief for green firms that run at carbon zero or are innovating ‘green’ products. Take firms like Nissan, Tesla and Toyota who all produce electric cars, under this scheme, these firms would be exempt or would benefit from tax breaks and reliefs rather than punish non-green manufacturers with crazy levels of tax, that way it incentivises to innovate and manufacture eco-friendly automobiles.

However, what about Infrastructure? Unfortunately, this cannot be fully rolled out by the government due to excessive costs that would leave the Treasury in the same financial strife as in 2009. Pro-business policies outlined by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid regarding start-up firms and entrepreneurial grants, similar to those introduced by Mrs Thatcher in the 1980s seem to be the ideal solution. The idea is that firms would supply the infrastructure to service stations and garages as well as in streets, in cooperation with car manufacturers to produce essentially a network of charging points.

Moving back to our friends at XR - if they really want to be seen as a serious pressure group, they will have to act like one and stop pulling foolish stunts, recruiting hypocritical celebrities and harassing politicians all whilst stopping Londoners going about their business. Not only that, their protests have been revealed to cost the Metropolitan Police over £37 million which is, in anybody’s opinion, a mind-boggling figure, but it doesn’t stop there. The opportunity cost of policing is far greater. These people are taking officers away from fighting real crime such as the rising amount of knife crime in London, thefts, motorbike gangs, fraud and catching the real criminals. Additionally, the cost to ordinary Londoners who are losing out on business, the small businessmen and women of the world who rely on getting about London in their van, car, taxi or on the bus - these are the people who keep the nation moving. After all, Napoleon said that we are: “a nation of shopkeepers” and these shopkeepers cannot get to their work because of these people who scaremonger the rest of us.

There was one gentleman in his van stuck in traffic in Trafalgar Square because XR protestors had blocked the roundabout. He explained that he had now lost a whole days' work which meant he didn’t get paid. Let this be a lesson that blocking roads doesn’t affect government officials and Ministers directly - it affects the working man and the working woman - stopping them from earning a living. The man went on to say that he agreed with the message, but not how they put it across. He needs his van for a living and currently, there are no cheaper alternatives. This example proves that blocking roads will not get the public onside and only sensible pro-business policies will.

Let’s take a closer look at some of XR’s policies, of which some politicians and even parties are supporting, for example, the first is to achieve net-zero by 2025. This would be absolutely unachievable unless we banned all flights, globally not nationally, the state rationing of meat and the confiscation of all diesel and petrol cars. The BBC’s Andrew Neil discussed this matter on his show recently. Now be honest, that would be absurd, and no rational person would seriously support that. The agreed position of the UN which has the support of over 40 countries, and has over 90 authors, all of whom are scientists - is that the 2050 target is a reasonable, achievable and progressive target.

Another one of XR’s policy ideas is to introduce the Citizens’ Assembly to inform the government what real people think’. Now if we do survey the people of the UK on what their action would be then I would hazard a guess that most would agree with the policy ideas I have outlined and that the Conservative Party support or Ministers personally support. There are far too many problems with the Citizens’ Assembly to mention, but I’ll briefly outline a few, for example, firstly it will be of random selection which has numerous drawbacks including a potential unrepresentative makeup, rather similar to the current Parliament! Secondly, many of these people will not be as informed as politicians and committees, which deal with these matters on a daily basis and look at the bigger economic picture rather than satisfying their own desires and agendas although that may be the feeling sometimes. Direct democracy, as proven by the Ancient Greeks does not work so there’s a reason why we don't do that! Take referendums for example, three and a half years after we voted for Brexit we still haven’t left and now we have so-called ‘People’s Vote’ campaigners demanding a re-run; the SNP still want independence even though Scotland voted ‘No’. Referendums only inflame the issue rather than solve it as the losing side will likely badger on about it, and in the concept of John Stuart Mill we end up with “tyranny of the majority”.