What is the future of interior design? How you can design your home and protect the environment without breaking the bank?

How did Dunia put design, affordability and the environment first?

At Dunia we know there are millions of furniture companies globally, but only a small percentage of these use recycled materials. We were aware of the role of environmental non-governmental organizations working to end plastic pollution. And also, we were aware of those environmental and educational non-governmental organizations working to provide environmental education to local students. At Dunia Designs, our truly unique selling proposition is that we combine all of these efforts into one commercial, sustainable, viable and most importantly, affordable social enterprise.

Dunia’s Scandinavian inspired Birrea collection. Our two-seater sofa and coffee table recycle a combined 112kg of plastic.

For fear of blowing our own trumpet, in short, our unique selling point (USP), is the diversity of our product range; we are the first company in the world to produce such a comprehensive product range from school desks to handbags to couches to decking, and all from recycled plastic waste. Dunia Designs provides a solution towards creating a critical shift in consumerism, striking a key balance between lifestyle quality and sustainability. Right products, right time. We give both private individuals and businesses access to high-quality, stylish, sustainable furniture, while catering to current trends as well as fulfilling a need for the Tourism industry and other businesses to comply with ecological footprint regulations.

What to look out for in a sustainable business

But we are not the only ones – the future of interior design is green/sustainable/eco. It has to be. Fortunately, there are a lot of designers and brands who are dwelling in this field of sustainable furniture.

These designers, brands and companies have similar traits in common. The raw material is not toxic (more often than not, it is made from an all-natural product) and/or has a recycled element to it. It employs local people and uses a product generally locally sourced. The manufacturing of the material involves a reduced CO2 emission and/or employs uses of alternative energies. They often employ fair trade rights and practices and have a durable quality to the product.

According to https://www.imm-cologne.com/magazine/future-living/sustainable-furniture/#sustainable, they so rightly say “labels are good but transparency is even better”. The sheer diversity of different criteria often makes it difficult for consumers to tell how “green” an item of furniture is. Various labels provide some initial ‘guidance.’ Three of the examples they cite are the following: FSC®️ (wood from responsibly managed forests), the German standard - Blue Angel (Der Blaue Engel) which takes in the complete life cycle of a product, and the DGM label awarded by the German Furniture Quality Assurance Associations based on the product’s carbon footprint and factors in both direct and indirect emissions.

For now, the maze that surrounds the certification of your product as ‘green’ is both frustrating for the manufacturer and consumer but is a necessary evil in the paradigm shift towards sustainable interior movements. It is heartwarming to see hundreds of recognized standards/benchmarks becoming a requirement for manufacturers and businesses alike to regularize the industry and keep the dreaded greenwashing phenomenon at bay. The future is one big bright Green one, as far as we at Dunia - The Sustainable Design Co. are concerned.