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What Arsenal’s New Football Kit has in Common with an Eco Chair               

You won’t often read about football on this blog, but Arsenal’s new kit deserves a mention. Not for its eye catching design and garish colours but because it’s made from recycled materials and is their ‘most environmentally friendly to date’. The next time you see Arsenal’s players run onto the pitch each player will be wearing a kit made from 13 recycled plastic bottles – which we think deserves an extra round of applause. 

Arsenal has pots of cash to spend on the best, highest quality clothing materials around. So their decision to use eco textiles for their new football kit, which will be seen by millions of viewers around the world, reflects how far eco design has come. Rather than coarse and scratchy, Arsenal has chosen a material for their kit that’s just as breathable, comfortable to wear and durable as any artificial material – except it’s much kinder to our planet to produce.

Arsenal isn’t the only major brand to use eco textiles made from recycled materials. Safeways in the US is reported to be selling eco chairs made from recycled plastic bottles too (hence the title of this post). Recycled plastic is just one material that can be used to make eco chairs. So if Arsenal’s kit designers are reading this, here are some other materials that can be used to make eco chairs (and maybe even football kits): 

Eco leather – Stain and fire resistant, eco leather is made from recycled leather fibre and offcuts that would normally go from the tannery straight to landfill. As well as hard wearing, you can spill coffee, wine or fizzy drinks on it and then simply wipe it clean – making it the perfect material for a luxurious eco chair. 

Eco textiles – Eco chairs, cushions and curtains can be made from a wide variety of sustainably harvested textiles, such as wool, organic cotton and hemp. These materials can also be treated with vegetable inks which are less toxic and emit lower VOCs (volatile organic compound).

Wood – Sustainably harvested hardwood is one of the most common materials for eco chairs. When shopping around make sure to check for the FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) stamp of approval. The FSC label gives you the reassurance knowing that any trees chopped down to make eco chair will be replaced with new trees.

Plastic – Along with plastic bags and plastic bottles, lightweight yet durable eco chairs can be made from recycled polypropylene, which is the most environmentally friendly form of recycled plastic

4 reasons to commission a UK furniture craftsman to create eco furniture for your eco home

These days with eco consciousness rising, there’s a wide variety of eco furniture to choose from. But sometimes it can still be difficult to find a specific piece you’re looking for. Maybe you need a dining table to be a specific size, or a design that matches the existing furnishings in your eco home. Or maybe you have an eco furniture design in your head you’d like to make into a reality.

In these instances you should consider commissioning a UK furniture craftsman to create a piece of eco furniture for you. They’ll sit down with you, listen to what you’re looking for and then fashion your idea into an exceptional and personal piece.

Inevitably, handcrafted eco furniture will be more expensive than something you’d buy off the shelf from a mass market retailer. But there are many reasons why you should consider commissioning a piece to add a special feature to your eco home:

1. Unique – Unlike mass produced furniture, a piece of eco furniture you’ve commissioned will be a one of a kind. This will make it an eye catching feature in your eco home and a talking point with guests.

2. Long lasting – In this consumerist culture we live in, a lot of mass produced furniture is only expected to last 5-10 years. Not only is this a waste of money but also a waste of the resources and materials used to build it. Specially built eco furniture, on the other hand, is built with high quality, durable materials and expert craftsmanship to last a lifetime.

3. An antique or heirloom for the future – UK furniture craftsmen dedicate their lives to perfecting their craft and building their reputation. This means a piece you buy now could see its value increase over time, as pieces by certain craftsmen become sought after.
4. Made from locally sourced eco materials – Whether weaving textiles, forging metal or carving wood, you’ll find that most UK furniture craftsman are eco conscious about the materials they use. Many only use wood they’ve harvested themselves or sourced from FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certified forests that are sustainably managed. You’ll also find many upholsterers use eco textiles and traditional hand weaving techniques to create eco cushions and eco chairs.

So when you consider all of the above, in our throw away culture where most things are mass produced, eco furniture that’s been made by a UK furniture craftsman to your design can offer a valuable and unique touch to your eco home.