Nature is at the origin of our designs. We consistently use materials with the smallest footprint on our planet. These are natural, organic, biodegradable, non-toxic and waste materials. They do not harm the planet, people or animals and are mainly locally sourced in the countries of origin. Currently 25% of the collection is made from sustainable plant fibres and 75% is made from waste materials.

Our material guidelines:
We solely apply

  • Sustainable plant fibres from quickly renewable plants
  • Waste: Recycled and upcycled materials

Although the amount of industrial and household waste increases every year, only around 20 % of the global waste is being recycled. The other 80% ends up as landfill, in the sea or is being burnt. Causing huge problems for the environment, animals and people.

Waste like empty wine bottles, teak root, wood from old houses, barns, boats and trucks, waste textiles can be reused, recycled or upcycled and turned into modern interior accessories or furniture. Waste is beautiful!

waste materials collection

Using waste as a raw material avoids negative impact of producing new materials.

Saves CO2 emissions from not being burnt
Saves land
Saves trees
Stops destroying the biodiversity
Is more durable; lengthens the lifetime of a material
Learn more about our materials & production

Do you want to contribute to reducing our generated waste? Read up about the difference between reusing, recycling and upcycling!

Reusing, recycling and upcycling

Quickly renewable plant fibres like water hyacinth, seagrass, unbleached jute, abaca are sustainable, have a low impact on the environment and do not harm the eco system.

The materials are harvested by hand from local community plantations and are not grown on an industrial scale.

Sustainable plant materials collection
Limited or non-usage of pesticides and fertilizers are used to grow these plants
These plants grow very quickly (jute matures in 4.5 months vs 20 years for a teak tree)
No uprooting necessary (regenerates on its own)
High capacity for absorption of CO2 and/or other toxins
Non industrialised materials sourcing process
Learn more about our materials & production

Plastic or recycled plastic is not part of our designs because it takes decades to decompose.

Do we really do not use any plastics? Not entirely, we solely use recycled plastics to cover our textiles, to prevent them from getting damaged during transportation. That’s it.

We consistently act upon our purpose to create the most sustainable brand in interior decoration. All boxes, hangtags, stickers and other labels are made from waste, organic or recycled materials.

To safeguard our planet even more, the production process of the originalhome collection is designed to minimize a negative impact on our planet.

How we produce:
  • Raw materials harvested & processed by hand
  • Celebrating traditional handcrafts

From harvesting and processing the raw materials until the end product; everything is executed by hand in small villages on a non-industrial scale. Sometimes simple electrical hand tools are being used. We trace back the origin of the materials that are mainly locally sourced.

Materials & Production

The end products are crafted by the gifted crafts (wo)men from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Tanzania. These crafts originate from ancient traditions and add soul & value to the originalhome products. The one of a kind organic shapes that characterize our collection is the sole result of handcraft.

Handcrafts are also a great source of income for many marginalized people in the remote villages of rural areas.

Crafts
During the production water, energy, CO2, chemicals, and toxins are reduced, kept to a minimum or are completely avoided.
Most raw materials are locally sourced on a non-industrial scale.
By persevering the natural looks of the material in the design, little processing of the raw material is needed.
We celebrate handcraft, honouring ancient traditions.
Low impact production.
Learn more about our materials & production

Our rest emissions from running the originalhome businesses are CO2 compensated by FairClimateFund projects that benefit people in the more vulnerable areas in the world.

Our rest emission compensation

If we do not care for each other, how can we care for the planet? Care for people is at the origin of our origins.

There are still many people in this world that live on or below the international poverty line on less than $ 1,90 per day. These people live in the more remote and rural areas of most developing countries and do not have access to jobs opportunities. Poverty reduction through trade forms a key part of our aims. We collaborate with local entrepreneurs who work in a social & eco sustainable manner with (rural) communities in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Tanzania. We consistently choose this type of entrepreneurship to create job opportunities for more marginalized people to help elevate their socio-economic status and quality of life.

The Makers
Focusing on rural communities

Poverty arises in the remote, rural areas of developing countries. Far away from the big cities there is limited job opportunities. People are depending on seasonal income which is not enough to support their families. Providing job opportunities in these areas reduces poverty.

Supporting social entrepreneurship

By consistently collaborating with local social entrepreneurs who work in a sustainable manner with rural communities, we create more jobs together.

Building partnerships

We build long term relationships, provide support on investing in raw materials, tools, product development, management, accounting etc.

Handcraft creates job opportunities

To create as much job opportunities as possible the products are made by hand. Handcraft has a low entrance barrier and thus accessible for many people. Bonus: it’s a production method that has a low impact on the environment.

Empowering women

Working from home and on their own time schedule in nearby workshops, empowers women to combine work with family tasks. It helps them to elevate their socio-economic status, independence and quality of life.

We Trade Fair

We embed the FAIR TRADE principles of quality, respect, partnership, fair wages transparency, fair pricing, safe working conditions in our ways of working. It is the 1st step to elevate people from poverty. Our partners are Fair Trade certified (or in process) and/or fit our social sustainability profile.

Note: We support social entrepreneurship. Fair trade certification is not part of our aims. Some of our producing partners are just too small to get certified.

and we love animals too!

Originalhome is a vegan brand. We do not use wool, leather, fur, down, silk or any other animal related materials in our designs.

It is not always the most sustainable option to produce locally. Read up about our life cycle assessment for glass.

Glass life cycle assessment

We are not only advocates of a greener planet, we also work towards a sustainable business model for a better distribution of wealth in the home decoration category. We support our partners to improve and expand their business to become even more sustainable and create more job opportunities.

How we give back

We promote the importance of green living, and we love to show you how waste can be turned into beautiful things. What we give back to you is sustainable organic design.

Join our journey to make this world greener & people friendlier!

In a fast-paced every day we seek for balance and peaceful sanctuaries. We thrive in beautiful natural surroundings to relax and reload. The originalhome designs are specially developed to connect you with nature. Our collection is based on the principles of biophilic design by emanating nature and preserving the authentic character of the materials in our organic yet minimalistic designs.

Eco design at home