Koskela NAB Office
Australia’s first B Corp furniture company announces commitment to full circularity by 2027, taking sustainable furniture design to new heights.
Australia has a fast furniture problem, with research showing that each year, the weight of furniture thrown out by Australian households (222,600 tonnes) is more than four times the weight of the Sydney Harbour Bridge*.
Sustainable furniture stalwart, Koskela, is tackling this problem at scale by announcing its bold commitment to total circularity by 2027 in its inaugural Circularity Action Plan. In the process, they’re helping Australian homes shift towards conscious consumerism and pushing the entire economy towards a circular future.
CEO Sasha Titchkosky
“Total circularity means that nothing Koskela makes will ever end up in landfill,” says Koskela co-founder and CEO Sasha Titchkosky. “This planet is in crisis, and it’s up to all of us to help usher in a new way of living, being and working – one that is in step with nature and allows humanity to thrive,” she says.
“As originators of products, we have a responsibility to make sure these products, our systems and business models are restorative and regenerative, with minimal impact on the Earth. We are rethinking the way people purchase and use products from the moment we design them.”
Koskela’s report outlines the innovative initiatives it’s taking toward circularity by 2027 and also reaching absolute-zero carbon emissions across all three scopes by 2035:
- Repair & ReHome – offering repair services and launching an online marketplace for pre-loved and refurbished Koskela furniture. Incentivising customers to trade in furniture they no longer need, helping others access products at lower prices and ensuring materials are recycled properly if the products cannot be repaired.
- Consciously crafted – designing and manufacturing products on-shore that are flexible, fit for purpose and made to last. By 2024, all of Koskela’s sofa covers will be removable, for easy cleaning and repairs. Their Modular Quadrant Soft Sofa demonstrates this timeless design and ability to adapt to changing spatial needs.
- No carbon offsetting – Koskela is no longer claiming to be carbon neutral. Instead, they’re allocating their carbon offset budget towards research and development that will eliminate emissions completely.
- 90% recycled materials – Koskela aims to stop using virgin materials and ensure that by 2026, 90% of all products are manufactured using recycled and recyclable materials.
While furniture used to be made to last a lifetime, in recent decades there’s been a decrease in overall quality and an increase in perceived disposability. Much like the rise of ‘fast fashion’, there’s been a sharp increase in mass-produced ‘fast furniture’ too.
To put the problem into perspective, it’s estimated that the amount of furniture dumped in Sydney’s landfills every year is the equivalent of 800,000 three-seater sofas, 1.65 million dining tables, 3.4 million coffee tables or 6.85 million chairs*.
“We want to create high-quality, timeless furniture, designed with circularity at its core to minimise the extraction of resources and waste; but also help our customers move to circular consumption by returning what they no longer have use for so we can find it another home.”
Titchkosky, who founded Koskela over 20 years ago, hopes their action plan will also influence other businesses towards a circular model. “We can’t just tree-plant our way out of the climate crisis. Going circular is the only way we can decouple growth from an increase in our carbon footprint,” she says. “I hope that other organisations can use our circularity journey as a blueprint for their own”.
Koskela will report back on their progress year on year, cementing their status as a leading voice for Australia’s circular future.
About Koskela
Koskela was founded by partners Russel Koskela and Sasha Titchkosky in 2000, who left behind lucrative careers in the corporate world in a bid to create a furniture and design company with a courageous mindset and strong social conscience. They sought to bring their vision to life with Australian manufacturing and design skills that impact social and environmental change. In 2017, Koskela became Australia’s first Certified B Corporation and is proud to lead the global movement of people using business as a force for good. Koskela’s products are loved across Australian homes and some of the world’s leading corporations and educational institutions, from Airbnb to Pinterest, Apple, Google, and Australia’s leading law firms and banks.
*Waste analysis company EC Sustainable reveals that Australian households are producing 24kg of furniture waste per year. For a nation with 9.275+ million households, that’s 222,600 tonnes of furniture waste and the equivalent of 4.28 Sydney Harbour Bridges in weight.
Koskela
