Environment

We are a small to medium sized family run business and whilst our environmental impact may be relatively low, we consider ourselves to be at at the forefront of environmental care within the window blinds industry.

Here are the core areas:

1. Individual / Staff Footprint

We encourage shared transport for commuting to and from work and each spend one day a week working from home.
Breakfast and lunch trips are generally shared or home-made.

2. Company / Building Footprint

Our office is located in a converted farm building which has been insulated to minimise heat loss with locally controlled heating for each staff member to manage. A Fax-to-Email service is used to reduce printed waste.

3. Vehicles and Travel

Company vehicles are powered by modern, low capacity diesel engines. As we complete work all over the UK, we tend to group work together in each location and provide accommodation for staff to complete work in that area, prior to returning home.

4. Waste & Recycling

Materials used for the production of window blinds can be broken down into groups:

• Hardware
  • Brackets (mixture of aluminium and plastic)
  • Roller blind tube (aluminium)
  • Vertical blind tracks (aluminium)
  • Venetian blinds (aluminium)
  • Wood blinds (timber with steel head track)
• Textiles
  • Vertical blind fabric (FR. Polyester / Cotton mix)
  • Roller blind fabric
    • Standard - FR. Polyester / Cotton mix
    • Blackout - PVC or Polyester with PVC back
    • Screen - Polyester (recyclable) Glass Fibre (not currently recyclable).
  • Venetian blinds are all aluminium and recycled whole (ladder braids removed)
  • Wood blinds have timber slats and a steel head track
  • Curtains made with a mixture of Polyester and Cotton
• Packaging
  • Card (recycled)
  • Plastic (mixed)

5. Future Investment

At present there is no universal practice for the recycling of blinds endorsed or described by the BBSA (British Blinds & Shutters Association). We have been in contact with the council, Defra, Oeko-Tex and are currently in the process of having sample fabric analysed for recycling by a number of textile companies with results expected back before the end of Dec 2010.

The contacts were provided by Alan Wheeler from www.textile-recycling.org.uk

Oeko-Tex was introduced in the last 20 years as a response to the needs of the general public for textiles which pose no risk to public health. Compliance to this standard confirms a 'clean' manufacturing process for the fabric.