These Design Companies Are Making the World Greener (2024)

For most of us, the word sustainability probably doesn’t conjure up the sexiest thoughts. The concept can be complicated, and sustainable products are often stereotyped as being unstylish or drab—perceptions that are hardly synonymous with luxury. Nevertheless, the design industry is slowly but surely shifting its focus to promote a more mindful, less disposable way of living. After all, at its core the idea of sustainability requires two things—exceptional design and being built to last. What could be more luxurious than that? Here are six companies that are making it their mission to bring luxe, earth-friendly products to the masses.

Artistic Tile

Good Design

The family-owned and -operated business, based in Secaucus, New Jersey, is one of the world’s biggest decorative tile and stone brands. From recycled freshwater shells to white Carrara marble from the Apuan Alps, all of Artistic Tile’s materials are completely natural, recycled, or sustainably harvested. So there’s no need for guilt when splurging on these showstoppers.

Good Impact

Artistic Tile’s headquarters and production facility are powered by solar energy and use T8 fluorescent lightbulbs, which cuts down significantly on energy usage. The company also recycles some 60,000 gallons of water used to cut tile every day, eliminating the need for city water entirely. For added good measure, the company sends all of its post-production scrap material to a plant in southern New Jersey, where it is ground into aggregate for concrete and then used in a variety of city construction projects, such as railway beds.

Pottery Barn

Good Design

Not only does Pottery Barn offer an array of organic, recycled, and Fair Trade products across all of its brands, but the company also makes it super easy for customers to shop sustainable items with a separate platform on its website (labels designate sustainable items in-store). With everything from crisp organic-cotton bedding and artisan area rugs made from recycled bottles to Greenguard Gold Certified furniture, the eco-chic options are endless.

Good Impact

Pottery Barn is pulling back the production curtain to showcase its commitment to the environment. One of the top 10 companies worldwide in using responsibly sourced wood and organic cotton, it has a multifaceted manifesto that includes working toward the use of 100 percent organic cotton by next year. Another plan is to finish paying back $3 million in Fair Trade premiums this year.

Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams

Good Design

MGBW partnered with a supplier to develop finishes that reduced its VOC emissions by almost 40 percent. The back pillows on its upholstery styles are partially made of recycled fibers that were once plastic bottles. Wrapped in 80 percent regenerated fibers, its ozone-friendly foam and padding are composed of up to 10 percent soy: an all-natural, renewable resource. Its wood frames are sourced from local domestic suppliers compliant with U.S. requirements for harvesting and reforestation.

Good Impact

MGBW also has an extensive recycling initiative for paper, plastic, and aluminum materials that furthers the product life cycle while reducing its carbon footprint. It upcycles fabric and leather scraps by selling them to other manufacturers who then make them into a variety of products, thereby reducing their landfill waste by more than 200 tons annually.

Benjamin Moore

Good Design

While unsafe paints have become a thing of the past—nearly every company has adopted low- to no-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints as the new norm, not all zero-VOC paints are created equal. For some brands, the color-tinting process itself can end up adding harmful chemicals or VOCs to the formula. Benjamin Moore has found a way to make all of its colors completely emission-free, and so began their Natura line. This 100 percent acrylic line of paints is also certified as asthma- and allergy-friendly.

Good Impact

Benjamin Moore is the first premium paint manufacturer to earn Silver-level certification from the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, which recognizes products that meet stringent requirements across five categories: material health, material reutilization, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship, and social fairness.

Carl Hansen & Søn

Good Design

“Timeless beauty, comfort, craftsmanship, and sustainability are so deeply ingrained in all our furniture works that only sight and touch are required to understand and fall in love with them,” Knud Erik Hansen says. The grandson of Carl Hansen and now third-generation leader of the family business is passionate not only about preserving Danish classics but also meticulous workmanship. Take, for example, the iconic Wishbone chair: More than 100 steps are required to manufacture each one, most of which are carried out by hand.

Good Impact

Carl Hansen & Søn purchases all of its wood from sustainably managed forests and responsible sawmills. It also uses nearly every bit of wood sourced in its Denmark factory, recycling the little that remains in district heating plants; as a result, it’s able to provide heat for about 750 houses in the surrounding area. Its paper cord, too, comes from renewable forests and is biodegradable, and the leather and other upholstery materials come from tanneries and producers with strict sustainability requirements.

Duravit

Good Design

Across Duravit’s extensive collections of bathroom furniture and accessories, sustainability and water conservation are employed both through product design and the materials used. Its HygieneGlaze 2.0 and Wondergliss formulas embedded into the glaze on many of its ceramic toilets have germ-killing technology that help cut back on the use of corrosive cleaners (which inevitably make their way into wastewater systems). Its range of LED mirrors and mirrored cabinet lighting also have an impressive average illumination life of 30,000 hours.

Good Impact

As a WaterSense partner for the last 12 years, Duravit has been able to save consumers more than 2.1 trillion gallons of water and more than $40 billion in water and energy bills. Additionally, the company aims to return everything to the production cycle wherever possible and has also made its furniture easy to dismantle so that it can be disposed of in accordance with the raw materials used.