Sustainability. It is word that you have probably seen and heard quite a lot lately. Whether it’s on the news or across your social media, it is becoming more and more familiar. So, what is sustainability? It can mean different things for different people, but for us, we think it is about being more aware of our planet and making small but significant changes that help maintain a healthy environment for future generations.
As the environment is a key factor, we are trying to be more aware of how the products we sell are produced. Our porcelain partners, Figgjo, are the masters of sustainability. Meeting today’s demands without destroying resources for future generations is one of their top priorities.
In case you didn’t know, Figgjo are a family-owned porcelain manufacturer located in Norway. It is one of our best-selling porcelain brands and it is easy to see why with their clean, modern, simplistic designs that are favoured by some of the top chefs in the world. Their factory is located in beautiful natural surroundings just outside Sandes. We have visited their factory a number of times and it is a pretty impressive place (see image above!)
Figgjo are the only remaining large scale producer of porcelain in the Nordic region, which is why sustainability is so important to the brand. We caught up with our Norwegian friends to find out more…
The Production
So what are Figgjo doing to help the environment? We will start with production. Their production uses natural raw materials and they recycle production mass throughout the process. Fired products that do not comply with their quality requirements are down-cycled as a filler for construction work etc. Pretty impressive, eh?
Zero Emissions
And that’s not all, dust and flushing water from the glaze compartment is cleaned and the glaze is recycled back to production. Process water is also cleaned according to public requirements and is being analysed six times a year under public supervisor. Figgjo, impressively, have zero emissions to the external environment.
100% Eco-Friendly
All Figgjo products are 100% environmentally friendly and contain no harmful materials and do not need to be sorted or disposed as hazardous waste. But most importantly, Figgjo products are made to last.
All in One Place
Figgjo’s production facility contains an in-house print shop, workshop to develop and maintain production machines, laboratory for testing and developing materials, ‘gipsen’ which is where they make tooling and prototypes by hand, waste water treatment plant, fully equipped photo studio, newly furbished showroom, 3D printer and so much more…
That’s a lot of amazing and useful things under one roof! This means shorter lead times and less logistics, which is all better for the environment.
It is great to hear of the wonderful processes Figgjo are doing to make sure they are more aware of the environment. We will be looking into sustainability a little bit more over the next few months, but for now we have crowned them ‘The Masters of Sustainability’. We look forward to hearing more environmentally-friendly stories from Figgjo and will certainly be sharing them on our blog! We would love to hear your stories too! Get in touch here.
