These eco-friendly home décor companies encourage local talents, create magic from waste

Hyderabad: Natural raw materials, environmentally friendly manufacturing processes, and cutting-edge business models: the furniture industry is becoming greener in response to consumers who are growing more quality and sustainability conscious.

More consumers are becoming proactive in their pursuit of a more sustainable lifestyle, whether by choosing brands with ethical or environmentally sustainable practices and values or by discontinuing purchases of specific products with ethical or sustainability concerns.

Sustainable home decor has become an enticing trend as environmental awareness grows, and individuals are gradually adopting more eco-friendly decisions.

Furniture recycling is becoming a growing area of concern. In certain situations, they are organically degradable, give leftover materials and even domestic garbage a second chance at life, and they even look great. Can they radically alter the sector?

Here are a few internet stores that provide eco-friendly home décor using recycled materials, such as lamps made from discarded bottles and bean bags made from waste textiles.

Diti

Diti is on a quest to create art for our walls and homes by gathering waste fabric from regional weavers, block printers, tailors, and shops.

“I’m a collector, a traveller, and an emotion. I travel through the earth, to satiate my hunger. Along the way, I collect stones, fabric, wood, and jute. And through the journey, these become my muse and my medium,” said Diti Mistry, the founder of Diti, based in Mumbai

Sanskrit definitions of ‘Diti’ include a concept, brightness, and an earth Goddess. As its name implies, Diti was born from the simple yet brilliant notion to embark on artistic endeavours by using discarded and disregarded materials and turning them into lovely items.

Sirohi

Sirohi works with women artisans from underprivileged areas who are trained to recycle used textiles and plastics in accordance with age-old Indian techniques. Their whole line of items is created from recycled or natural materials.

“Sirohi promotes a leisurely and uncomplicated way of living based on the ideals of Indian culture and tradition. Our handwoven home and lifestyle goods are made by talented women craftsmen with the intention of bringing the beauty of the outdoors inside,” said Gauri, founder and director of the company.

“We spent more than five years finding weavers to teach and transmit this kind of weaving to mainly rural women in need of jobs, in an effort to resuscitate the ancient techniques of weaving. Our goal is to create a paradigm of sustainable employment and revenue for these newly taught artisans while also giving them a worldwide stage to display their extraordinary abilities,” said Gauri.

“Our craftsmen come primarily from the Muzaffarnagar area of Uttar Pradesh, well-known for having a high crime rate. We made the decision to shift the focus of ‘Muzzu’ from crime to culture after observing the artistry of the craftspersons there. Despite being forced into early marriages, Sirohi’s women exhibit amazing bravery and tenacity,” she added.

Opaque Studio

The company recycles used furniture such as bookcases, chairs, and tables to create decorative items like candle holders, planters, and ottomans. Some of its most distinctive furniture and home décor pieces are made there using sustainable materials including terracotta, jute, and cane.

“We take great satisfaction in our approach to adopting a more waste-free strategy while producing and constructing our designs because sustainability is the cornerstone of the studio. Due to the detrimental consequences the rapid furniture business has on the environment, we do not mass produce any of our items. We are not just here to construct furniture for you or sell you the newest trendy style you see online. We fully think that progress must be slower, particularly when it comes to the manufacture of furniture,” said Kritika Gattani, founder of Opaque Studio, based in Greater Noida.

Design 5

They craft candlesticks, tray platters, beautiful tray boxes, and attractive wall photo frames out of waste wood. Additionally, home accessories are hand-painted with exquisite Indian themes, floral patterns, and patterns drawn from nature.

Rimagined

The company upcycles used rags, vehicle tires, and empty wine bottles into spice racks, vases, baskets, and padded chairs. Their workforce comprises women and traditional craftspersons, according to their website.

“Rimagined, which transformed from a marketplace in 2016 to a fully-fledged manufacturing company, reused and experimented with a variety of old and new materials, and releases fresh, cutting-edge designs to entice customers to choose more environmentally friendly solutions. While this is going on, the business’ back end is driven by moral working conditions and sustainable pay for workers,” said Shailaja, the founder of Rimagined, based in Bengaluru.

Shailaja, a business consultant with around 15 years of experience, volunteered to work in solid waste management (SWM). She became aware of the catastrophe that people were causing for themselves and the environment through the type and amount of waste that was produced while she was working there.

She was able to reconsider her own decisions by simply taking a simple look back at her own youth and upbringing, and Rimagined served as the platform to prolong her material’s lifetime.

The chance to develop a new consumption model seemed to be presented by the 31 million tonnes of garbage disposal. A design that relies on material reuse rather than a linear use-and-throw strategy.

Artisanns Nest

The company uses its excess to equip houses with opulent, plain, and patterned bean bags and cushion covers. The majority were made using the patchwork technique and had monochromatic or floral themes.

“With a continual focus on recycling current materials to extend their lifespan, upcycling, and reclaiming leftover materials, we seek to minimise waste of any type with our designs. Every product is made from previously consumed textile waste. Our goal is to lessen the amount of garbage that is burned off or dumped in landfills, both of which cause serious environmental damage. By using leftover fabric to make products and services, we not only benefit the environment but also significantly cut down on the waste of resources like water, oil, and hazardous chemicals that were used to make these products in the first place. By turning them into products, we extend their lives,” said Priya Bawa, founder of Artisanns Nest, on the company’s motto.

“For us, sustainability simply means anything that lasts a long time. By designing a product with a lengthy lifespan, the company is reducing consumer abandoning, which may otherwise result in environmental pollution. We define sustainability as reducing waste via upcycling and recreating from pre-existing materials, while prolonging the lifespan of the material or product,” she added.

The Retyrement Plan

The company skilfully creates beautiful furniture including chairs, poufs, stools, and swings out of recycled materials such as old tires, textile ropes, cane, and bamboo. The Retyrement Plan collaborates with talented migrant artisans and craftspeople in metropolitan areas.

Designer Anu Tandon Vieira hires artisans to upcycle tires, scrap plastic, and chindi into fashionable furniture at her karkhana in Goregaon, Mumbai.

Anu Tandon Vieira, who was then in her late 40s, had a lightbulb moment when visiting Greece with her family. She discovered herself at a potter’s workshop on a mountainous island. Beautiful pottery was being made by a father and son, but the woman of the home, a woman in her 60s, attracted her eye.

“The woman, a US accountant who had relocated back to her birthplace, was weaving cloth and crafting trinkets while enjoying a stunning view of the ocean. I quickly noticed that she was happier now than she had ever been in any of her earlier years. I thought it was the ideal retirement strategy,” says Anu.

“The Retyrement Plan in Mumbai, was born out of that one journey. It was initially conceived near the end of 2011, and the company’s initial goods debuted in 2012,” she stated.

Anu’s firm now produces roughly 100 pieces of furniture every month utilising waste materials including old tires, textile and plastic waste, and cane with the assistance of six regular craftsmen and twelve part-timers. The variety of furniture includes poufs, ottomans, chairs, tables, couches, swings, hammocks, and the most recent design, pods that are marketed as reading nooks and look a lot like weaver birds’ nests.