Innovation

Harriet’s work keeps the craft of traditional English upholstery alive (SDG 11, target 4). Repurposing furniture also reduces landfill (SDG 12, target 5) and the milling of forests for wood (SDG 15, target 2). However, despite seeming to be an inherently sustainable trade, upholstery covers a dark secret.

To mitigate the severity of house fires, the United Kingdom implemented strict regulations in the 1980s that set levels of fire resistance for domestic upholstered furniture, furnishings, and other products containing upholstery (Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 (amended 1989, 1993 and 2010)). For Harriet, this means, “I can't legally sell a piece of furniture unless it adheres to the regulations; if there was a house fire and an investigation subsequently found I'd supplied stuff that was flammable, I’d be liable.”

In the upholstery industry, these regulations led to a surge in the development and use of chemically treated and chemical-based upholstery fabric and materials (e.g. cushioning foam) to meet fire resistance standards.

“For the last 20-30 years, there have been mutterings about the health concerns surrounding these chemicals,” says Harriet. “They have been found in seabirds and in whales. In breast milk too. Just think about it: every time you collapse on your sofa, a cloud of dust, pet hair, and potentially lethal chemicals puffs out, which you then breathe in. Children with asthma are especially affected.”

British upholsterers wanting to reduce the chemical load in their business, while meeting strict fire regulations, need to be creative forward-thinkers. For Harriet, this has meant a return to the humble sheep. “Wool is great! It’s inherently fire resistant, so no need for chemical treatment. And it’s recyclable and biodegradable.” Via the ingenious use of wool (new and recycled) both as a covering fabric, a padding material, and an intermediary barrier between the external cover fabric and interior frame, Harriet has now almost eliminated the need for chemically treated cloth and materials from her production processes. This not only helps to reduce terrestrial, aerial, and marine chemical pollutants (SDG 3, target 9; SDG 12, target 4; SDG 14, target 1) but also supports other local micro businesses, often run by women (SDG 5), that manufacture and supply her wool products.

Where wool-based materials aren’t appropriate, or for clients who aren’t so sheep-forward, Harriet has sought out a variety of sustainably sourced or recycled alternatives to maintain her commitment to sustainable consumption and production. Coir fibre stuffing from sustainably farmed coconuts is used instead of hogs- or horsehair in Harriet’s traditional upholstery work; fabric made from recycled bottles rivals some of the softest linens. Similarly, Harriet’s alternative to chemically produced padding foam is a British-manufactured product which, “has the same squishiness as foam but it's made out of recycled ocean plastic” (SDG 14, target 1).

“Grasping every opportunity to do the right thing in an industry which for one reason or another, sometimes through no fault of its own, has not done the right thing is good.”

Micro businesses, however, often face major barriers in their efforts to do the right thing. For upholsterers, sustainable materials can come with niche price tags which, in the current economic climate, might be unpalatable for clients. “We don’t have a loud enough single voice to make the change upwards,” laments Harriet, “a lot of it is about putting pressure on your supply chain.” To that end, Harriet actively works alongside fellow upholsterers to compel wholesalers to source and supply cost-effective sustainable alternatives to mass-manufactured, imported, and chemical-laden products (SDG 12, targets 6 & 7).

To reduce carbon emissions and protect labour rights (SDG 8, targets 7 & 8), Harriet also maintains a commitment to local, quality materials. “I don't like buying cheap fabric from China or Romania or India. I only buy in fabric that's above a certain price point and from Britain or Europe.”

Harriet is a member of an informal sustainable upholstery group on social media, that shares ideas and action-based initiatives to improve industry practices. This commitment to share, scale and educate best-practise (SDG 12, target 8; SDG 13, target 3) is also reflected in her approach to clients. “Probably 80% of my clients share my beliefs; if I feel it’s appropriate, I will broach the topic of how and where my materials are sourced and try to guide them toward making sustainable choices.”

Harriet Guest with one of her bespoke creations

Inspiration

Harriet entered the upholstery industry after 16 years as a British Army Officer and communications engineer. Harriet (or, more properly, Major Guest) wanted to combine her eye for problem-solving with her long-dormant creativity: “there was certainly no outlet for my creativity in the Army, and I felt a bit sad and frustrated about that. There was a whole side of me that was just going to die unless I reignited that flame again.”

Hogs’ teeth, ladies underwear, toenails, and live ammunition have been among the strangest items pulled from the depths of clients’ furniture. “I have a shelf of shame where those items sit – not the underwear or toenails though!”

While at first it was about the challenge of setting up and running her own business, Harriet’s strong ethical and environmental beliefs, as well as her commitment to health and wellbeing, have driven her efforts to make the industry more sustainable. “Horsehair is traditionally used in upholstery. But I'm a horse lover and I don't like the thought of horses being farmed for their hair, so I refuse to use it unless it's already in a chair, in which case I'll wash it and put it back in. And I don't buy hogs hair either, because I don't know what condition the pigs have been reared in.”

In terms of the environment, Harriet is adamant, “I do believe, very strongly, in humans cleaning up after themselves.” She bemoans the consumer-driven urge to buy new rather than repair: “Modern furniture is very badly made and may only last ten years, but then it’s not economically viable to refurbish because of its terrible construction.” Old furniture, by contrast, can be refurbished to last generations: “So in that way I’m saving the world, I guess”.

Overall impact

Around 22 million pieces of furniture are discarded each year in the UK, largely to landfill, and only around 1 in 10 people consider repairing their furnishings to extend their life span (1). Around 110,000 tonnes of furniture at Household Waste and Recycling Centres in the United Kingdom is re-usable in its current condition (2).

“It worries me that the need for consumerism is really, really deeply ingrained in people and they can't let it go.” While she might be a one-woman business, albeit ably assisted by Uno the Labrador, Harriet maintains that even one piece of furniture rescued from landfill is a positive: “One chair, fewer chemicals, more wool, a better procurement process. It all adds up – I hope.”

For Harriet, being part of an informal community of sustainably focussed upholsterers is key, enabling a louder voice for industry change; “Upholstery is largely a cottage industry. So, it's a very much a case of innovating in the face of big business.”

Business benefit

Harriet is modestly hesitant about the effect her sustainability efforts have directly had on her business, although she acknowledges that it inherently feels good to be trying to do good. Harriet’s strong business ethic and commitment to absolute quality without compromise to her social or environmental stance, has resulted in Harriet Guest Upholstery now having a six-month client waitlist. Harriet has not found the need to advertise her services apart from some light social media use, and she is regularly called on by master upholsterers to support with large orders.

Despite the pressures that come from being a micro business in major demand, Harriet puts much of her company’s success down to its size. As a micro business, Harriet Guest Upholstery is not only agile in its decision making and ability to trial and implement sustainable innovations, but it has also managed to side-step many of the burdens Brexit has imposed on British small businesses, including new migrant policies. “Small to medium sized upholstery businesses are really struggling in this country. Foreign employees have left, and cost-pressure may compel owners to choose pathways that don’t necessarily align with their sustainable beliefs. It’s really sad.”

Harriet is looking to create opportunities to talk more openly about her sustainability journey, as well as ways she can further close the gap between her beliefs and her business practices.

Social and environmental benefit

Harriet’s personal ethical and environmental commitments have driven a systems change approach to her business production process, putting sustainability at its core. Socially, this is generating a ripple-effect not only across her clients (increased access to choose more sustainable options) but also suppliers (market demand drives organisations to change their offerings). Harriet is committed to supporting fellow small businesses and local suppliers wherever possible which, in turn, reduces her dependence on emissions-heavy imported materials, manufactured under potentially dubious labour conditions. A sheep-first tactic also supports the British wool industry, and the many farmers and manufacturers involved in the production chain.

Environmentally, by adopting a circular approach, Harriet’s use of recycled, or remanufactured products, means less waste-to-landfill being generated and more ‘waste’ products (e.g. ocean plastic, recycled wool) being returned to the production system. Additionally, through her business innovations, Harriet has been able to almost entirely eliminate her, and her clients’, exposure to chemicals in their furniture. In so doing this also subsequently reduces the chemical load in landfill from offcuts.

As well as doing good, Harriet considers a fundamental part of her business model being about “showcasing traditional crafts that have been in this country for hundreds of years…and which last for generations.” She loves seeing her clients’ reactions to the finished product, “especially someone who might have brought in a chair that their granny had, which has been brought back to life to pass on to the next generation. People can get quite teary when they are reunited with their furniture; it’s wonderful to make people so happy.”

References

1. North London Waste Authority (2018). '22 million damaged furniture items and 11,000 bust bicycles thrown away each year.' Retrieved from https://www.nlwa.gov.uk/news/22-million-damaged-furniture-items-and-11000-bust-bicycles-thrown-away-each-year

2. WRAP (2012). 'Composition and re-use potential of household bulky furniture in the UK.' Retrieved from http://www.wrap.org.uk/bulkywaste

Interview

Harriet Guest, Founder