Embracing Sustainability and Transparency

WHEN YOUR PRODUCT COMES FROM THE ENVIRONMENT, IT ONLY MAKES SENSE TO PRESERVE IT.

In our business, we get to see and experience many places and cultures of the world. Many travelers would agree this impresses a deeper appreciation for the planet, and for us, a greater sense that something needs to be done to preserve this treasure for future generations. 

This sustainability mission began for us on day one by deciding what products we would create: handcrafted, natural window coverings. Our window coverings are made from rapidly renewing resources grown in well-managed ecosystems and the health of our business is directly linked to the health of these environments.

So, it’s with thoughtful consideration for where our natural fibers are harvested and the places we call home that we continually seek ways to minimize our impact throughout our process. At Hartmann&Forbes, we use techniques thousands of years old to create our products. Here’s what we are doing to help ensure those traditions and the environment live on for thousands of years to come.

HARVESTING

The fact that our natural fibers are grown and harvested makes them distinctive, but that alone doesn’t make them sustainable. It’s our discriminating use of rapidly renewable fibers like bamboo, jute, river reeds and grasses grown in well-managed ecosystems that makes them so.

WEAVING

The hand weaving techniques used to make our shades and draperies have been handed down for generations. It’s a craft that may otherwise be lost without a commercial purpose. Taking three days or more to laboriously weave one roll of material may seem absurd to some, but to us, using the energy of the human hand captures the spirit of craftsmanship, rather than exhausting our planet’s limited resources.

FINISHING

After we receive the woven materials at our Pacific Northwest finishing facility, they are cut, sewn and assembled by hand into an assortment of natural window coverings. And creating something by hand intrinsically uses less energy and adds more value than making it by machine.

TAKE-BACK™ REUSE OR RECYCLE

We believe that environmental responsibility extends beyond how raw materials are grown and harvested, or even how the window coverings are finished. Environmental responsibility includes how used shades are managed as well. To this end, we have worked feverishly to become the first in our industry to close the loop in our process.

In 2006, we created a take-back program to collect used window coverings from our clients. Any shades that are fit to be reused are donated to The ReBuilding Center of Portland, Oregon. For any that can’t be reused, we are able to recycle the majority of the shade’s fabric and components.

LEARNING WITH THE BEST

We were founded on the principles of environmental stewardship, but we are far from being experts. For this reason, we surround ourselves with environmental leaders such as The Natural Step Network and the University of Oregon, along with top environmental designer clients who not only help to shape our environmental perspective, but also continue to drive us to remove waste and inefficiencies from our business model. Sometimes the hard questions that we receive from these partners challenge us to the core, but we always appreciate the growth we achieve because of this. We view our environmental activism as a journey, not a destination.

PROJECT-GREEN™

We started Project-Green, an internal initiative launched in early 2005, to dedicate time and resources to reducing the corporate environmental footprint in our day-to-day business activities. Fostering a company culture of environmental stewardship, our team empowers our partners to participate and make suggestions for improvements. This has led to numerous initiatives such as using FSC certified or post consumer waste paper, corporate recycling and renewable energy programs, as well as using recyclable shipping products. If you see our Project-Green logo, you know it meets our sustainability requirements.

GREENSPEC LISTED AND CERTIFICATIONS

Our Handwoven, Handwoven Classics and PapyrusWeave Collections are GreenSpec Listed. Only a select listing of manufactures make it here. 

Each has been evaluated for a wide range of environmental qualities and only the top 5–10% are included in the third-party certified directory. For more information, please visit www.greenspec.com

GREENGUARD CERTIFIED

The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) is an industry-independent, non-profit organization that oversees the GreenGuard Certification Program. GEI establishes acceptable indoor air standards for indoor products, environments and buildings. Several fabrics in our EcoWeave Collection are GreenGuard Indoor Air Quality Certified and GreenGuard Children and School Certified. For more information, please visit www.greenguard.org

ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENTS

We’re design experts, not environmental experts. Yet, the fact that we visit so many towns and villages exposes us to both the beauty and pollution in our world. It impacts us, concerns us and ultimately drives us to take greater action. 

In and outside of the business, we are activists working in the environmental movement, committing not just time but financial resources to support prominent environmental and conservation-oriented organizations.