Sustainability, Recycling and the Environment
We are always mindful of issues around sustainability, recycling and the environment at Edward Johnson. We are always looking for ways to improve how we recycle our waste products and timber, and by doing so, helping to protect and care for the environment around us.
Longevity and sustainability run side by side and are intrinsic to most decisions Edward makes in both his personal and work life. He has always shared a deep love for the natural world, and if he is not in the workshop he will typically be in his garden. It is through the longevity of the products we produce, the timbers we choose and the way in which we deal with our waste that we do our upmost to respect the natural world. Our furniture is designed and crafted to a level which will see it far surpass our lifetime and be looked upon and enjoyed as heirlooms by future generations.
Below we outline how we use sustainably sourced timber for all our projects and some of the other ways in which we are continuing to actively reduce our waste products and recycle wherever possible.
Sustainable Materials
When it comes to wood selection, we will always use sustainably sourced FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) timbers. We have a good relationship with our suppliers and select only the very best sustainably sourced timber from local suppliers.
EJ-eco Products
We have very recently launched our EJ-eco products. These are small items made from our most beautiful hardwood timber off-cuts that may otherwise be discarded as waste. We have put our thinking caps on and given a lot of thought to designing products that not only use the larger off-cuts but also the smaller ones too! We have made a range of chopping boards, serving platters, flower holders, vases and plant holders where every piece is unique and different. We have also made door wedges and even wooden plant labels, and the product range is still expanding!
We launched the eco products at our recent open studio to gauge our visitors’ reaction to them, to our delight we successfully sold most of our stock. Although at the opposite end of the spectrum to the high-end furniture we design and manufacture, these modest products were very well received. We felt that people really did get on board with the idea and ethos behind them. As well as enabling us to recycle our quality timber off-cuts, it has also enabled us to employ a young apprentice who helps bring these products to life.
Recycling our Wood Waste
As well as producing our EJ-eco products we also sort any additional hardwood that we cannot use into bags to sell for firewood and kindling. We have also reduced our waste substantially by giving any Plywood and MDF off-cuts to a local business to burn in a specially filtered biomass boiler system which heats their entire workplace. Alongside this we have also been recycling our wood shavings locally for composting, animal bedding and to local stable yards.
General Recycling
As you would expect we have recycling bins throughout the workshop and studio and even encourage our staff to compost their teabags and recycle their crisp packets! Recently, we sought to cut down our use of single-use plastics, by reducing the amount foam and bubble wrap we use for packaging, replacing it with brown paper and paper bubble wrap wherever possible – yes such a thing exists – it just doesn’t ‘pop’!
