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InterfaceFLOR Matches Sustainability with Fair Trade

The Fairworks concept recently debuted at the company's Scherpenzeel factory in the Netherlands.

Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 3/24/2008 12:00:00 AM

Saving the environment and fighting poverty are equally noble missions, so why not try tackling both at the same time? That’s the strategy behind Fairworks, a new green initiative by InterfaceFLOR that’s intended to ensure socially responsible production of its flooring.

The initiative, launched at the carpet tile giant’s Scherpenzeeil factory in the Netherlands, was initially conceived in 2004 in order to address two grim developments. First, almost three billion people around the world are living on less than the equivalent of $2 per day. Second, traditional craft skills are dying out, only to be replaced by environmentally destructive modern production techniques.

Fairworks aims to combine sustainable materials and traditional craft skills from around the world by developing trade relationships with suppliers in impoverished communities. In the process, the manufacturer creates a sustainable solution for these workers rather than just donating money.

"InterfaceFLOR was completely committed to sustainability, but if you looked hard the commitment was not reflected in the way we operated," says Karin Laljani, InterfaceFLOR's vice president and European marketing chief. "So the great opportunity was to define a holistic approach, to demonstrate that sustainability should be at the heart of a company."

Fairworks is part of Mission Zero, a plan to completely eliminate the company’s negative impact on the environment by 2020 by using natural or recycled materials, drawing upon skills of local artisans, and working with local groups and government bodies to increase earning opportunities for workers.