How can companies reach net-zero by 2030?

We’re on a global mission to achieve specific environmental goals, and we’re on a timeline. Goals set in 2015 outlined a 15-year timeline to achieve certain human and environmental goals by 2030. The U.N. Member states adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a commitment to end poverty, improve education, address water shortages, eliminate inequalities and focus on the climate, among the 17 designated targets. With companies carrying much of the burden to make the required changes in order to achieve these goals, they need to have a plan, and quickly. 

While it’s a challenge, it’s certainly possible. Many companies already manage their day to day operations at a net-zero level. Plus, customers, governments and communities are collectively demanding greener products. Catering to those demands puts companies in a good light with many customers, specifically the next generations who are dedicated to conscientious purchasing, even if it comes at a higher cost. So how can a company even get started with such a seemingly insurmountable task? The same way we tackle anything in life: with a plan.

Related: Triple Zero is going above and beyond decarbonizing

Evaluate current operations

This step requires a comprehensive look at the supply chain, transportation, packaging, waste, material selections, manufacturing, storefront footprint, shipping practice, and more. In order to make changes, a company has to identify current operational standards. 

Measure carbon footprint

For each category of the business, it’s important to know exactly where the business stands from an environmental stance. How much plastic is used in product packaging? How far are supplies and finished products being shipped? Are buildings run on renewable energy? There are many online tools and even entire businesses that offer consulting to measure carbon footprints accurately.

Without an accurate measurement, it’s impossible to define, let alone achieve, net-zero status. Basically, the process involves choosing a base year that represents typical operations. Then the company will use defined measurements to evaluate the company’s total emissions. These are broken into scope one, two and three emissions, which are addressed with an individual plan for each business. These are science-based solutions so accurate data collection is essential, as is setting realistic and attainable goals backed by detailed plans of action. 

Map out initiatives

All plans need a goal list, complete with timelines. For a company to become net-zero, it will need both. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has developed the first global science-based standard for companies to set net-zero targets. This provides businesses with the tools they need to follow the roadmap to net-zero. Along the way, it will achieve near-term and long-term goals, investing in different initiatives along the way. The plan will look different for each business, but in general it will typically start small and rise to the bigger, pricier adaptations. 

Take, for example, a clothing business. The initial steps could remove plastic from all packaging, replacing it with recyclable paper products instead. Then it would look at the supply chain, shifting to fair trade, organic, natural or recycled materials that are produced responsibly. It might also find local suppliers to eliminate transport emissions. Next, it will transition manufacturing lines to solar power or other types of renewable energy.

Set targets

With all this information at hand, specific targets are then set for each category of business operations. The company will choose a target year and use science-backed calculations for the actions required to achieve the desired reductions. This process applies to both near-term and long-term targets. Again, the SBTi and net-zero consulting firms are available to guide businesses along the way. The SBTi even outlines wording for targets to ensure specificity.

An example might read, “Company X commits to reduce emissions from forestry and land-use and agriculture 80% by 2035, from a 2019 base year.” Or, “Company X commits to reduce scope 3 emissions from upstream transport by 85% by 2040.”

Use carbon offsets

Even the most diligent business leaves a carbon footprint. One way to balance out the equation is to pay for carbon offsets, which simply means investing in activities such as planting trees. The carbon absorbed by the trees then counterbalances the carbon produced by the business. Early in the transition towards net-zero, many companies rely heavily on carbon offsets. The goal, however, is to eventually earn net-zero status as an entity without the need for offsets. That’s when the environment can start to get ahead. Especially when a business is net-zero but still contributes to causes such as stopping deforestation or restoring wetlands. 

Maintain and re-evaluate

Major overhauls to a business are rarely easy. While the target goals are set at this point, that doesn’t mean they are always achieved. Constant monitoring and adaptations are required to keep the business on track towards net-zero goals. 

Net-zero is achievable

As the saying goes, “Getting started is the hardest part.” When the topic comes up at a board meeting and everyone is wringing their hands at the costs involved, remember, the goal is to halve emissions in the next eight years and to eliminate them before 2050. That means businesses don’t have to get it done overnight, but they do need to start today.

Like the SBTi stated, “The climate and ecological crises require bold and decisive action from companies. Decarbonizing a company’s value chain in line with science and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 is increasingly becoming the minimum societal expectation on companies.”

Via SBTi

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On Valentine's Day, we love Earth a little extra

Romance is not inherently harmful to the planet. However, when you start calculating the emissions transporting flowers on cargo planes, paper from greeting cards and miles driven to reach a steak dinner, the harm begins to grow.

Despite our best efforts, the commercialization of love is an environmental hazard, and it is hard to escape. But there are other ways to celebrate. With a little extra forethought, date night and weekend getaways and even Valentine’s Day can be fun while avoiding a carbon splurge.

Related: A homey, floating cabin makes for the ultimate romantic getaway in South Australia

Food

Vegan food is not for everyone, but reducing your meat and dairy consumption can be a great date experience. Try a new recipe at home by substituting eggs for aquafaba or applesauce. Test an entirely vegan meal just to see if you like it. Venture out to a vegan or vegetarian restaurant you would not usually try. At the very least, you may find a new favorite food.

One of the largest Valentine’s Day purchases is chocolate, but not all chocolate is created equal. Fairtrade chocolate is an important addition to your romance because it means the farmers oversee their futures. Fairtrade allows for more women to own farms and prevents farmers from financial ruin should the market falter. Because of this, farmers can work towards more sustainable farming practices, which keeps chocolate from falling victim to climate change. Most of the time, the chocolate tastes better too. If you are going to splurge on anything, let it be a better-tasting aphrodisiac.

Moreover, reducing your environmental impact begins with reducing unnecessary waste. Desserts for Two is dedicated to sweet treats with only two servings. Not only does this reduce leftovers and waste, but it also makes for an intimate and special evening.

Another way to reduce waste is to shop for ingredients together. Want to have a romantic, home-cooked meal? Start with a morning date at your local farmer’s market where you can pick out the ingredients you need and talk to the farmers about in-season crops, making your date a hands-on learning experience that lasts all day.

Travel

What is more natural than the great outdoors? If you follow the leave no trace principles, your romantic getaway can be cheap, sustainable and fun. If you already have all the gear, this may be the cheapest date yet because most campsites in the U.S. cost between $12 and $45 per night. Some are more, of course, but national parks have sporadic free camp days as well.

No internet? No problem. There are usually hiking trails and outlooks near campsites making even your daytime activities cheap on this weekend getaway, and there is nothing more romantic than uninterrupted quality time without media distractions.

A vegan bed and breakfast in Washington or outdoor adventures in Wisconsin mean more expensive and faraway trips can be eco-friendly too. The ideas behind regenerative travel can apply as close or as far away from home as you dare to go with your loved one. From Mexico to southern Australia, people across the world are making romantic vacations environmentally friendly with ecotourism and sustainably built lodging.

If your idea of romance does not include camping or jumping on a plane, try a staycation. Staycations help you to explore your own city while avoiding long travel days, and thus carbon emissions associated with travel. Try a new restaurant, take a walk on the beach, turn down a new street and explore. Making your own home an exciting new adventure allows you to create your own romantic adventure.

Gifts

Experiences make for the best memories. Ditch the teddy bear and expensive roses and go somewhere. Do something. Try a date at a museum. Some museums and zoos even host 21 and over nights throughout the year, making it a perfect time to go somewhere you have not been in a while.

Nobody ever said a date was only one night. Signing up for a pottery, language or dance class together can be a great time to learn and engage with one another. A class is a gift that will continue giving well past its original idea. (Plus, several future date nights are already planned, so it is a win-win.)

The love language of gift-giving means that you or your significant other may especially appreciate gifts. The trick is gifting sustainably. Our go-to red roses are often flown in from Latin America, and a predicted $2 billion is spent on flowers for Valentine’s Day. Instead, try locally-grown flowers from the farmer’s market or local florists. You may even learn that your beau has a favorite flower and it is not roses.

Edible objects are some of the best gifts because they are consumed and not kept around collecting dust. If your significant other is unlikely to appreciate a teddy bear forever, try food and drink kits that come with things you need to make bread, kombucha and even sparkling wine. Many companies make similar kits, such as Soberdough’s brew bread kits that range from mimosa muffins to stout brownies.

Lastly, the card to deliver with the gift. Most cards and envelopes are, thankfully, recyclable, but as soon as you add ribbon and glitter, that goes right out the window. More and more compostable and plantable cards are on the market these days. Made from seed paper, once your message is delivered, the receiver can plant the card and grow everything from wildflowers to basil ensuring your message will live on beyond the paper. You can even learn to make your own plantable cards or your own paper out of junk mail and recycled scraps. Think of the beautifully messy date making your own paper!

Whether you stay at home or travel thousands of miles, a sustainable romance is possible. The most environmentally-friendly romantics get crafty, are adventurous and purchase consciously.

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Relax in a smart shower with hydrotherapy infusion

You’ve probably heard of low-flow showerheads that preserve water, but have you heard of a smart shower that infuses essential oils into your water at the same time? Hai created an entire water-saving showerhead system that tracks your water usage and includes hydrotherapy while helping you monitor and reduce energy usage.

Spa hydrotherapy and planet-saving smart shower combined

Think of it as aromatherapy infused directly into the water. Hai makes infusion tablets that insert into a capsule in the showerhead, and the water of your shower does the rest. The hai aromatherapeutic tablets come in lavender, eucalyptus and mandarin scents. Each is mixed with vitamins and essential oils.

Related: Water-powered shower head speaker made from recycled plastic wins honors at CES

The showerhead automatically saves you water because it operates at 1.8 gallons-per-minute as opposed to a normal showerhead that runs at 2.5 gallons-per-minute. What makes the hai a smart shower is that sensors light up to tell you when the water is at your target temperature so you save time and water. The showerhead adjusts from a full water flow to a fine mist, which also customizes your shower experience like a small steam shower, but saves you additional water.

Moreover, a Bluetooth connection tracks your water usage over time on a phone app. The phone app can also alert you when your shower is ready at your desired temperature. The hai showerhead has a toggle switch that changes the full water flow over to mist. Mist mode is therapeutic as well as sustainable. It helps the shower open your pores to absorb the vitamins and therapeutic ingredients in the infusion tablets.

Additionally, the showerhead installs fairly easily by unscrewing your old showerhead at the pipe and installing the new showerhead with an included clamp to lock it in place. The equipment comes in six color options that pair with a brushed nickel finish from yellow, red and black to blue, pink and white. The main showerhead doubles as a handheld attachment, detaching from the wall to use while seated or to clean pets.

Review of the hai showerhead and infusion system

Hai sent me a showerhead to test, and I was a bit intimidated at first after learning the showerhead requires no tools. The package recommends a wrench and plumber’s tape. The website actually shows how you can unscrew a showerhead and clamp on the new showerhead, which was reassuringly simple.

They sent lavender and eucalyptus tablets, which had strong scents, but were pleasant and refreshing. To use them, you just open the little plastic infusion chamber on the side of the shower and pop one in, which is infused into the water flow. Your shower then becomes an aromatherapy steam bath or infused shower to absorb the therapeutic ingredients into your skin. You should avoid this product if you have herbal allergies to eucalyptus or citrus, or if you have severe asthma that might be irritated by a steam shower with essential oils. Overall, I was impressed with the design and thought behind the smart shower.

Wellness is a hot trend these days, but by combining self-care with what’s good for the planet, the hai showerhead becomes both spa-like luxury and climate solution tools that engages the user to track and better their own habits.

I especially love how the light on the showerhead tells you when the temperature hits your desired warmth. If you want to use the app, you can see all the extra data and be notified of a warm shower from the other room. And you can set this shower to your favorite settings and forget it while still conserving resources. I don’t generally warm up the shower for long, but it is easy to forget if you walk away, which wastes water (and heat).

Despite recently replacing a tub and shower, and sorting through hundreds of showerhead options, the hai showerhead is totally different from the average equipment on the market. It’s smart, sustainable, automates most of the water savings and tracks energy use for you. And best of all, it gives you the benefits of a steam shower and a spa treatment, but it’s super easy to install in any bathroom and doesn’t require a remodel like a real steam shower requires.

+ hai

Images via hai

Editor’s Note: This product review is not sponsored by hai. All opinions on the products and company are the author’s own.

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Meet Great Wrap, the completely compostable cling wrap

It’s finally here — stretch wrap that’s made from food waste rather than petroleum-based plastic. It’s time to reset your vocabulary from “plastic wrap” to “Great Wrap.” 

Great Wrap is the Australian-based materials science company dedicated to eliminating plastic from the planet. It’s making its point with its first product release. The Great Mate dispenser is made from recycled plastic bottles, with each one removing the equivalent of 33 single-use plastic bottles from the waste stream. The non-plastic stretch wrap comes on rolls called “Nudie Rolls” that fit neatly inside the Great Mate. 

Related: This company cleans microplastics from water with whirlpools

The setup allows users to order refills for the Great Mate with minimal waste. Nudie rolls are made from potato waste, so when the material has been used and is ready for disposal, it can go straight into the backyard compost. This is a massive innovation within the material development world — one that stands to shift the direction of all plastic production.

However, it’s important for consumers to understand the difference between biodegradable and compostable. A material labeled as biodegradable will break down, though that can simply mean breaking down into smaller particles such as the ubiquitous and damaging microplastics that are now found in every living thing on the planet. When an item is biodegradable, it also has no timeline for decomposition.

Materials that compost, however, break down in entirety, leaving behind no particles or toxins. Compostable materials are primarily made from plants. Before tossing them into the backyard bin, it’s important to note whether they are suitable for backyard composting or if they need to be sent to an industrial (municipal) facility. Great Wrap can be composted in your own yard and breaks down within six months, which is the same amount of time as most wood, grass and food waste in the bin it shares. 

Great Wrap is made from food product waste from the potato chip industry. It repurposes the rejected potatoes, as well as the skins stripped off in the process. Being compostable isn’t the only difference between Great Wrap and traditional cling wraps. Since it is a natural product, it’s prone to melting at high temperatures. So while it can be used in the microwave, the company suggests keeping an eye on it at medium and high heat. Great Wrap can, however, be used in the refrigerator and it can safely be stored in the home for two years. 

The materials are made to function similar to the way plastic functions. The difference comes once the wrap is disposed of. While traditional wrap heads to the landfill where it takes generations to break down, leaching into the soil in the process, Great Wrap begins to break down as soon as it comes into contact with the enzymes in the compost pile. If the product ends up in the landfill, it will still break down.

However, it’s estimated that it will take two to three years. So if you haven’t started a composter yet, this is a “great” reason to make your move. Besides, composting is easy and provides a spot for many of your household debris like all produce peels, stems, cores and other food waste. It’s also the perfect spot to recycle spent garden plants, dump your grass clippings and layer with fall leaves. 

Great Wraps founders, Julia and Jordy Kay, come from diverse working backgrounds, yet they share a common passion for sustainable product design. In her previous life as an architect, Julia explains she was nauseated by the amount of plastic wrap used to hold products on pallets. Jordy, on the other hand, was making wine and was similarly frustrated by the amount of plastic involved in the shipping process. One day, the husband and wife duo landed on the solution for both the plastic alternative and their goal of running a business together.

The team is passionate about blanketing the planet with Great Wrap, one customer at a time. As an alternative to petroleum-based wraps, it solves problems related with pollution from petroleum extraction and transport, provides an outlet for potato waste from French fry and potato chip manufacturers and leaves zero evidence of its time on Earth once it breaks down in the composter. That’s a full-circle product, so it’s no surprise Jordy says he expects to see Great Wrap “literally everywhere” within 10 years’ time. 

Great Wrap provides a starter kit where you can acquire your initial Great Mate and two Nudie Rolls for $39. The Great Mate is available in four color options. The Nudie Rolls measure 98 feet in length. After your initial purchase, you can subscribe for automatic deliveries every two or three months at a cost of $19.90. Your cling wrap deliveries have a $5 flat rate for shipping. Currently, Great Wrap is shipping to locations throughout Australia and the United States. It has plans to expand shipping locations in the near future. The company offers a 100% satisfaction and 30-day return policy for all Great Mates and unopened Nudie Rolls. 

+ Great Wrap

Images via Great Wrap

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This cheddar is the first carbon-neutral cheese in the world

Wyke Farms has been in the cheddar cheesemaking business since 1861. The Clothier family company kept their award-winning, 160-year-old recipe and spent nearly 15 years on bioengineering to become the UK’s first 100% self-sufficient in green energy. As their next step in sustainability, they launched their Ivy’s Reserve Vintage Somerset Cheddar, the first carbon-neutral cheese in the world. 

Named after Grandma Ivy, whose recipe is still used 100 years later, the Ivy’s Reserve Cheddar has a nutty taste with bits of salt for a crunchy bite. Aged for up to 18 months under wood, the cheddar tastes more subtle than the sharp orange-y cheddars you might be used to, with a smooth butteriness in the mouth. Additionally, it is perfect melted or on your favorite charcuterie paired with nuts and dried fruits.

Related: Vegan cheese hitting dairy aisles at Whole Foods in New York

Inhabitat spoke with third-generation family member Rich Clothier, managing director at Wyke Farms and Ivy Clothier’s grandson, on how the company is innovating the cheesemaking process to greener pastures. 

Inhabitat: What started the journey to launch a carbon-neutral cheese?

Clothier: At Wyke Farms, our grandmother Ivy Clothier used to say, “If you look after nature, then nature will look after you.” Ivy had the deepest respect for nature and a love of the Somerset countryside, valuing the resources it gave, and she never wasted anything. In return, the landscape provided food, a livelihood and a home, and these values remain at the heart of the business today. We believe that good cheddar needn’t cost the earth, and therefore, we tread lightly on the land, always ensuring that we give back more than we take. Launching Ivy’s Reserve as the world’s first carbon-neutral cheddar was the natural next step in our sustainability journey.

Inhabitat: How does going carbon neutral affect the process of cheesemaking?

Clothier:

Our cheese: When making Ivy’s Reserve, we minimize waste and packaging, recover heat, filter and reuse our wastewater and reduce carbon emissions. In all we do, our aim is to achieve net-zero production.

Our farm: We’ve reduced emissions on our own and our suppliers’ farms with a committed sustainability plan and incentive program. This covers animal feed, land management and energy use, as well as regenerative farming and protection of the soil. It encourages biodiversity, improves soil quality and helps to reduce emissions, bringing the CO2 output per liter of milk to 20% under the national average.

Green energy: We use 100% green energy, with electricity and gas sourced from solar power and from biogas generated from farm and dairy waste. Our anaerobic digester saves 20 million kilos of CO2 every year, as well as providing us with rich natural fertilizer that we can return to the earth.

Working with nature: We do all we can to protect and nurture the countryside around the River Brue, which runs through our valley. We leave uncultivated areas to wildflowers and other species, as well as planting trees and putting up bird boxes and insect hotels.

The Carbon Trust: With the Carbon Trust, we have conducted cradle-to-grave footprinting analysis to certify Ivy’s Reserve Cheddar as carbon neutral in accordance with the PAS2060 standard. PAS 2060 is an internationally recognized specification for carbon neutrality and builds on the existing PAS 2050 environmental standard. It sets out requirements for the quantification, reduction and offsetting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for products.

Inhabitat: Is the company hoping to launch other types of products that are carbon neutral?

Clothier: Yes, we are working to bring to the market later in 2023 Ivy’s Reserve Salted Farmhouse Butter as the world’s first carbon neutral butter. Our deliciously creamy farmhouse butter is still made to our grandmother Ivy’s special recipe. Its unique smoothness and clean finish come from the use of whey cream, created as part of the cheesemaking process, and the care with which it’s churned. With the addition of just the right amount of salt, it’s perfect for toast but able to add something special to baking and cooking too.

Inhabitat: What have been some challenges for going toward 100% green?

Clothier: Currently, the packaging for Ivy’s Reserve cannot be recycled. We are working to find a 100% recyclable packaging solution as quickly as possible. It’s challenging in cheese as it needs a barrier film. Without barrier film, then cheese spoilage and food waste increases, which can be equally bad or even worse for the environment, so we are unable to take any risks. […] We have trialed multiple materials for cheese produced by several different manufacturers, and whilst we’ve yet to find a solution, we are doing all that we can to drive the innovation needed to allow people to continue to enjoy Somerset Cheddar in a more sustainable way.

Inhabitat: What are the goals for the future now that Wyke’s Farms has achieved UK’s first 100% self-sufficient in green energy?

Clothier: We will continue to develop more sustainable ways of working as technology allows, with a key focus on increased solar PV, work with our milk suppliers to measure and improve their carbon footprints and drive improvements across the business aligned to the Science Based Targets Incentive.

+ Wyke Farms

Images via Wyke Farms

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3D-printed tiny homes are made from recycled plastic

Building a house is time-consuming, requires a large number of raw materials and labor and is not environmentally friendly. Now, imagine a world where houses are built quickly, yet affordable and even sustainable. This may sound surreal, but it is actually happening — thanks to 3D-printing technology. 

Azure Printed Homes, a Los Angeles-based startup, is putting plastic to good use by using it to build 3D-printed homes. The company offers sustainable solutions to two problems: plastics waste and housing shortages. Azure printed homes was founded by entrepreneurs Ross Maguire and Gene Eidelman. The company was recently chosen by the real estate development firm Re-Inhabit to construct 10 rental homes in Southern California.

Related: Are 3D-printed homes a sustainable option for the future?

Furthermore, they follow a sustainable approach to make a house. The process is efficient and reduces the environmental impact. According to the company, it can build homes 70% faster and 30% cheaper compared to the “traditional home construction methods.” The Azure homes are constructed in their Culver City factory and then delivered to the site.

Additionally, the house is said to be 99% finished when it leaves the factory. Following that, it is transported to the destination on a flatbed truck. Once on-site, the only thing left to do is connect the modules together. The printing process takes nearly a day after the house design is finalized. They highlight that over 60% of the print material comes from plastic used in food packaging and plastic bottles. A small house (180 square feet) could be constructed using 100,000 recycled plastic water bottles. 

The recycled plastic is combined with other materials to increase the strength and durability of the structure. The company is currently using “post-industrial plastic” to create the printing mix, and they aim to use post-consumer plastic in the years to come. The home also comes with other environmentally-friendly options, such as solar panels and heat pumps, in order to reduce home energy consumption bills.

Azure currently offers homes in three sizes: studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom. Its most affordable home is priced at $26,900 (120 square feet studio). The most expensive and largest home, on the other hand, costs $204,900 and is spread out over 900 square feet with two beds. It should be noted that the aforementioned prices do not include any additional fees, such as delivery or utility hookup.

The company intends to usher in a new era of construction by capitalizing on 3D-printing technology as well as harnessing the power of recycled plastics. Their ambitious project will give plastic a second life, which usually ends up in landfills, oceans or incinerated. It is a critical solution as the global plastic crisis continues to worsen. In fact, from 2000 to 2019, a global plastic waste generation more than doubled to a whopping 353 million tons. The construction industry accounts for roughly 20% of total global carbon emissions. Overall, this solution is beneficial to the environment; however, it is critical to assess the long-term capabilities of 3D-printed homes.

+ Azure Printed Homes

Images via Azure Printed Homes

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These home accessories are inspired by AlUla landscapes

Studio Niko Kapa based in Dubai recently unveiled a collection of homeware, office and decorative products. These draw inspiration from the natural landscapes of AlUla in Saudi Arabia. The designers were especially influenced by AlUla’s rich history, archeology and natural environment. Through these influences, the mass-produced objects resemble artifacts with unique, handmade qualities. The products in this range include desk organizers, bowls and valet trays with organic, sculptural forms.

The AlUla region includes UNESCO world heritage sites like Hegra and Dadan, which were capitals of two ancient Arabian Kingdoms. The area’s geography is made up of desert dunes, sandstone mountains and volcanic landscapes. These undulating, kinetic landscapes and traditional Arabian craftsmanship were extensively researched to develop the AlUla artifacts. These socio-cultural and environmental-inspired elements merge with contemporary design for a timeless, vernacular appeal. The designers also meticulously blend aesthetics with function for an elegant, versatile product collection.

Related: Beautiful plant-based Leukeather rivals exotic leather

Through extensive material research, and to pay further homage to AlUla, the main object materiality is sand. The sand is held together with AshCrete. This is especially environmentally friendly as AshCrete is made from 97% fly ash, which utilizes waste materials and replaces most of the energy-intensive components used to produce traditional concrete. Additionally, the material incorporates recycled concrete and ceramics to further enhance sustainability.

The manufacturing of these objects is another key feature of the design process that lessens the project’s environmental impact. Instead of mining for natural resources and utilizing an energy-intensive process, the AlUla artifacts use the site’s abundant desert sand and other waste materials. By using locally-sourced materials and recycling waste from other production processes, transport and raw material costs are minimized and the collection’s carbon footprint drops. Moreover, since the manufacturing process does not require technical expertise or specialized mechanical equipment, workmanship and labor costs are reduced.

Beyond environmental and economic sustainability, the project’s material research and development also influenced the objects’ appearance. The material’s finish gives the products a stone-like, matte texture that mimics features of the local scenery. Meanwhile, local earth pigments like clay have been used to obtain the collection’s warm, desert-inspired color palette.

In the near future, the artifacts product line will be produced and presented at AlUla’s cultural and retail outlets in Saudi Arabia. The collection will preserve the country’s rich heritage and culture while paying homage to the local geography.

+ Studio Niko Kapa

Images via Studio Niko Kapa

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