Laddar in
NC

Sustainability Challange: Packaging and transportation

Packaging often feels like a typically unnecessary and bad thing for the environment. But if we are to be completely honest packaging, in all its forms, has a purpose in protecting the content. At NC we have been weighing in the pros and cons on this issue but concluded that our packaging fulfills the purpose of protecting our fine wooden furniture from being destroyed during transportation. After all, when we weight the environmental impact of discarded products against the environmental impact of our packaging, we have come to the conclusion that it is better that our products reach the costumers as a whole, ready to fulfil its purpose. Our packaging is made of FSC-labeled cardboard and plastic foil, both can be recycled and hopefully used again.

Transportation is another part that is difficult to avoid. Materials are transported to the factory, furniture are transported to our warehouse and further to the costumers. The chain of transports is inevitable and before there has been a major change in the transport sector in terms of fuel, we unfortunately have little opportunity to influence.

A glimmer of light both in terms of packaging and transportation is the so called Blue truck concept of our mother company Kinnarps. In this transportation system traditional packaging has been replaced with reusable blankets and transportation is optimized to minimize the negative environmental impact. At NC we are not yet part of this concept but the plan is we will. Before that we have challenges to solve regarding how well our wooden furniture can handle this packaging. As already stated, our existing packaging fulfills an important purpose for both the quality and the environment. To fully get away from this packaging is going to be a tough nut to crack but who doesn’t love a challenge!

Lisa Hansson
Sustainability Manager, NC