Vestre certifies with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel

A little over two years ago we could announce that Vestre were the very first manufacturer of outdoor furniture to have a city bench certified with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel.Today we happily announce that additionally four of our top selling ranges all receive the same certification. Previously our April bench was the only product to have the Nordic Swan Ecolabel certification. Now the entire April, April Go, Bloc and Stripes series join the ranks of certified products. Vestre is with this well on it’s way to becoming the world’s most sustainable furniture company.

Vestre is happy to be a part of this certification, and we consider it a necessity for procurement officers to be able to know what is an environmentally friendly product, without having to read through page after page of documentation. We see a positive trend in tenders with environment increasingly being a part of the requirement. Now that we have certified products that represented some 40% of our total revenue in 2018, translating into over 150 unique articles, the purchasers suddenly have a wide variety to choose from.

Sustainable materials and longevity

To meet the Nordic Swan criterias for certification, Vestre currently impregnates the Nordic Pine wood used for seating with the most environmentally friendly process today. Yet our research and development is looking to phase out the final compounds that can be exchanged for more environmentally friendly alternatives. A key part of the road to certified products is getting control over the supply network. Since we source everything in the Nordics that’s quite easy, but the principle applies anywhere.

Vestre, Torsby

Also, most of Vestre’s products are made of wood and steel. Our steel is supplied from Sweden, and comes with a whooping 30% lower carbon footprint than the world average. The Nordic Swan also requires parts of it to be recycled, in Vestres’ case 20% of the steel. To add to the longevity of the products, we offer spare parts throughout the lifetime of the product. Vestre always considers the end of life when designing and constructing a product. This means that even after decades, parts of the product can be recycled and made “box fresh” again.

– To be able to certify 150 articles with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel means a lot to us. It’s a commitment to our bet on the importance of the environment, and it means we’re even closer to our goal of becoming the world’s most sustainable furniture company. We hope to see other companies fighting for the same title within their field, and for consumers to pressure manufacturers even further by having environment as a requirement, says Vestre’s CEO Jan Christian Vestre.