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What if we told you that you can have that beautifully designed coffee table that would perfectly suit your living room, and help the planet at the same time? How cool would it be if while you browse websites looking for ideas for your new home, you didn’t have to feel guilty about how your purchase will affect the environment?
We understand that being eco-friendly when designing your ideal home can be a tricky task. But as consumers become increasingly more aware of the carbon footprint that tags along with their purchases, ‘fast furniture’ brands become less attractive. The main question then becomes: how can you build the home of your dreams, while still keeping in mind the environment? No worries, we’ve got your back. No, we won’t suggest you to gather old furniture from your acquaintances. And all your refurbishment can be done, while still avoiding questionable brands, which are most likely located in the farthest area of the globe and made by who-knows-who and who-knows-how. At DARI, green is not only one of the hundreds of colours that you will find in our palette, but a real and active choice.
From sourcing materials to the delivery of the products, our aim is to provide beautifully designed and environmentally friendly furniture. Basically, something green that doesn’t leave you in red.
We had many ideas in mind when we sat in our board meeting and started discussing on how to make furniture more sustainable. Firstly, we are always proud to remind, DARI’s furniture is all made in Malta. The longest ship we have to deal with on the Maltese territory is from Qormi to Gozo, which counts about 40km. Safe to say, our carbon footprint is automatically lower than any other company which imports furniture products. It would take much more energy to ship any other product from overseas.
Additionally, being a local factory, it requires way less packaging for the delivery. It doesn’t mean we will be able to carry all your drawers wrapped in a thin foil in the trunk of our electric cars, but if we can cut the packaging by 60%, it’s a win-win solution both for the environment and our conscience.
If you think about it, the best investment you could do when purchasing something is, to buy an article that you’re sure will pass the most difficult challenge: time. At DARI, we value time and energy, that is why we invested in the latest technology to make our production process more efficient, while also ensuring that we create high-quality products for your home that will last a long time and won’t need to be replaced anytime soon. Choosing long-lasting products is the most sustainable investment you can make, and that’s exactly what you’ll find at DARI.
If you’re still not sure, just remember that buying long-lasting products saves you money in the long run, which means you’ll have more money for that trip to Bali you’ve always wanted. To learn more about our sustainable factory, click here.
Usually, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about sustainability is material. At DARI, materials are just the start of our eco-friendly journey. Our company imports materials from FSC-Certified suppliers in Italy and Germany. These materials are then automatically sorted by our factory, in the most efficient way to create furniture with minimal cut-off material.
Any of this unused cut-off, is then placed into a material cutter to create chana (wood chips). This is then sent to local farmers to be used as animal bedding.
The spraying booths that we use for our panels have a fully filtered system and this means that no harmful chemicals are emitted into the atmosphere and we are planning to transition to a spray system that uses more water-based solutions in the near future. Lastly, we have decided to minimise the single-use plastic by replacing it with cardboard where ever possible to do so.
The concept of sustainability is rooted in DARI’s ethos, and the beautiful island we live in has helped us tremendously in keeping up with our sustainability standards. We have the fortune to work and live in what is known to be the sunniest place in Europe, which averages about 3000 hours of sunshine a year: wouldn’t it be foolish of us not to take advantage of this opportunity whilst helping out the environment?
This is the reason why DARI’s building uses a northern-light roof approach. The slanted windows on one side of the building help spread natural light and air ventilation and the PV panels on the rooftop harvest solar energy, which contributes to over 10% of our total energy usage.
In colder months, we direct the heat produced by our machines inwards through the vents to warm up the factory space. Sometimes, it can get quite warm and our employees may take their break as an opportunity to let their mind wonder as if they where relaxing on a beach on a warm summers days!
In areas where we need more light, we use the most sustainable lighting options available. We also briefly considered using bicycles that generate energy when ridden, but we ultimately decided against it. While we wanted to be environmentally friendly, our dislike of going to the gym overruled our positive feelings towards the planet’s wellbeing.
Additionally, we opted for alternative eco-friendly methods such as collecting rainwater in our reservoir to be used for daily needs, and lastly, getting rid of any plastic water bottles, as at DARI we use reverse osmosis throughout the whole building.
Employee wellbeing is tied to our sustainability practices. Besides offering our employees the chance to get a natural tan throughout the whole year, several green pockets can be found throughout our premises, including an internal office courtyard with a 200-year-old olive tree at its core. We take every precaution necessary to minimise on-site injuries and we have invested in the latest machinery on the market to ensure staff safety.
At DARI, we recommend choosing digital quotes and renders over printed ones when placing your order, and this preference is maintained throughout the entire sales process. In the rare event that one of our products is damaged, we can easily identify it using its unique barcode and produce only the necessary piece to minimise waste. Our goal is to reduce waste whenever possible.
As DARI evolves, board-level decisions are always made with sustainability in mind. Our team continues to invest in the most efficient machinery and sustainable materials for our factory. We’re committed to providing you eco-friendly options, to help you building the house of your dream, while caring about the home that all of us share: our planet.
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Interesting in learning more about the DARI furniture collections? Get in touch to book an appointment or visit our showroom in Qormi to begin planning your next chapter for your home.
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