hard at 'verk' for a more sustainable future
Verk co-founder and creative director Simon Anund talks sustainability, misleading labels, and fossil fuels
Published On: 25/11/2022
Although Swedish furniture manufacturer Verk is relatively new on the scene, they are quickly establishing themselves as a powerhouse of sustainable practices.
“Verk doesn’t just sell furniture, but awareness too. A piece of furniture from Verk is always a sustainable product of top-notch design and minimal climate impact.”
The collection features pieces made of solid Swedish oak & birch, ecologically tanned leather, & Gotland limestone
With a strong awareness for the climatic impact of furniture production, Verk has managed to create a collection utilising only locally sourced, sustainable raw materials and keeping all production within the Swedish borders.
ARMCHAIR TRIENNA 2.0 | design Carl-Axel Acking
Co-founder and creative director Simon Anund was kind enough to answer a few of our questions, giving us insight into the mindset that drives Verk.
toitoitoiluv: Where did the idea for Verk come from?
Simon: VERK has emerged from many years of conversations and discussions about how one can continue to manufacture furniture with a clear conscience at a time when new production is actually both unnecessary and stressful for the climate. We are passionate about furniture and design in general, and our ambition was to produce furniture with a high level of design, designed by the country's leading designers exclusively produced in Sweden exclusively from Swedish raw materials. In our opinion, it is the most sustainable way to go.
After many years in the industry, it has become clear how little is actually produced in Sweden. Not to mention how few use Swedish raw materials and materials. The fact that it says "Made in Sweden" on a product often means that the product is assembled in Sweden, nothing more than that.
SOFA V.MC.01 | design Mia Cullin
toitoitoitluv: What are your ambitions (past, present, and/or future)?
Simon: Not only are we interested in creating furniture made from natural, sustainable materials, but we also demand that it be locally produced. Everything is traceable. The raw materials are Swedish. Every component of every piece comes from Sweden, and the factories are located within the country’s borders. When we market the collection as “Made in Sweden”, we want it to mean something.
Through our stance, we want to help strengthen and support the manufacturing industry that still exists in Sweden. We have the raw materials needed for furniture production: wood, steel, leather, wool, and stone—but most are exported rather than used locally. Our goal is to inspire and, through transparent communication, inform people about the significance of homegrown expertise and production, communication, and to contribute to change.
Since we started, we have reached out to a large number of people dedicated to local production in various ways. The network is constantly growing, and Verk is now a hub for dialogues within the field of sustainable local production in Sweden.
When we reach out to local craftsmen and producers, they are often small players without the economic muscle to make a difference and have an impact on the market. By gathering names and information and spreading the word through our social media channels and our webpage, we have been able to create a huge interest in local production. Not only Verk can benefit from this but also all our suppliers and producers.
BENCH V.LF.01 | design Linn Fredlund
toitoitoitluv: What do you do that has the biggest positive impact?
Simon: We hired a trustworthy technology consulting company to make an EPD (environmental product declaration) of one of our chairs to compare the fossil footprint based on where the chair was produced.
We chose Poland as an example, as many Scandinavian furniture brands have outsourced their production to eastern Europe, and several of them ended up in Poland. And also, the energy mix in Poland is dominated by fossil fuels (83-84%). Despite the fact that this is a massive problem, we rarely even mention it in the Swedish furniture industry.
VERK's chair has approximately a 70% lower climate footprint than the Polish-made chair. The main reasons for the increased climate footprint of the chair manufactured in Poland for the Swedish market are the longer transport distances, and the fuel mix of energy used in sawmills and in the production of the product. The result shows that even for a product with a relatively small impact on the climate, the differences can still be large for two equivalent products.
TABLE V.DE.02 | design David Ericsson
toitoitoitluv: Do you have a call to action or shout-out you’d like to make?
Simon: We can no longer outsource production to countries run by fossil fuels! It is necessary to accelerate emission reduction measures as early as the next decade in order to achieve the global goals of limiting global warming.
Greenhouse gas emissions are increasing in all sectors, and over the past decade, average greenhouse gas emissions were higher than ever before. Fossil energy has been a major cause of climate change, and now energy conversion plays one of the biggest roles in finding a solution to climate change.
ARMCHAIR V.JW.01 | design Joacim Wahlström
There are countless ways we can work towards a more sustainable future. For those in the design industry, let’s take a page out of Verk’s-book.
Verk is getting ready to launch a large number of new products at the Stockholm Furniture Fair in February 2023, featuring collaborations with Elsa Unnegård, Per Nadén, Anya Sebton, and Johan Skoogh, to name a few.
This is NOT a paid promotion (this goes for any of our blog posts). toitoitoiluv is the luv child of toi toi toi creative studio that promotes design, objects, and creative experiences to help show off the creative community.
A huge thank you goes to Simon Anund for taking the time to answer our questions. 🙂
_______
To learn more about Verk and their dedication to sustainable design, check out their website:
https://www.verk.se
http://thefuturesocial.se
instagram: verk.se
Or visit their showroom in Stockholm:
Hornsgatan 79, Södermalm
Sources & Images:
courtesy of Simon Anund
https://www.verk.se
_______
We luv to support makers of all kinds – particularly those committed to their craft, who want to make a difference in the world. Do you have a project you’d like to share with the world? Hit us up, we’d luv to hear from you: workwithus@toitoitoiluv.com
