Towards Greener Living with Eco-Friendly materials and Practices

By Pallavii Pitale
There are huge problems with today’s urban centres. These range from pollution and crime to poor infrastructure. The main problems that people are facing now days is the lack of basic necessities of life like lesser availability of Water, Electricity, Fresh Air and so on. All these factors are a part of global environmental concern.
Interior Design and Architecture are the fields which if practised for a sustainable living can work wonders towards saving our precious natural resources which in turn would not only help us but also the future generations to come.
Interior Design and Architecture has variety of aspects to it. Each aspect needs to be handled very carefully in order to develop an Efficient, Aesthetic and Green Design.
Though mainly a concern for the Architects, Working with more and more eco friendly materials should also be the concern of every Interior Designer of today in order to help maintain the ecology and environment of our mother Earth.
The mantra for sustainability is Reduce- Reuse- Recycle- Regenerate.
Reduce – The use of certain materials should be Reduced like the Virgin wood and wood products, virgin paper made from tree pulp etc. Products made from animal fir or leather especially of those of the endangered species, Ivory, animal shell products, stuffed birds and animals, animal skin etc. should be banned totally and should not be used by any Designer for the delight of their clientele. It should be carefully practiced as part of the ethics of the business. There are many artificial alternatives available for such materials which can be used freely as per the choice and the liking of the client. Reducing the use of air conditioners, reducing the use of Electricity, Water, Paper made from wood pulp should also be the aim while selecting the fittings, fixtures and various materials fo design.
Reuse- Out of the many, the materials that can be easily reused are old furniture, old upholstery, utensils and certain equipments etc. A designer can decide upon an innovative reuse of such materials. A cradle with a top of a glass can be reused as a centre table.
An old metallic pot also can be converted into centre / side tables, concrete pipes, blocks can also be used in a very innovative manner. Much more useful can happen when creative minds are working on it. Old good upholstery can easily be converted into interesting wall hangings, door mats, stylish handbags, sofa covers, table mats etc. Old tyres, mineral water bottles and other such waste products can easily be used as small planters. Old jute purses can be used as planter covers. Old colourful T- Shirts, clothes with interesting prints can be converted into variety of art pieces. Torans and various types of hangings can be created out of leftovers of curtains, upholstery, old bedspreads, sarees etc. The more one thinks creatively, the more things can be produced by reusing waste products.
Recycle- Things like metal, paper, plastics and many other things are necessary to be recycled in order to reduce the stress on the environment. Resources like water needs to be recycled and reused for certain purposes like gardening, car washing, flushing etc. Old cotton and hosiery clothes if put for recycling can be converted into handmade paper. The old, broken furniture if recycled can be converted into new artefacts or new furniture items. Glass can be easily recycled. There are certain special items made from eco- friendly recycled glass.
Regenerate- Regenerated materials out of waste like handmade paper, recycled glass, recycled paper, recycled wood and the respective products like handmade paper bags, paintings on handmade paper, papier mache artefacts and products, recycled glass blocks , panels, artefacts, eco friendly wall papers, torans, artefacts, wall hangings, dhurries and carpets made out of recycled and recyclable material are now available. Regenerated wooden products are also an important Eco- friendly solution.
Use the materials wisely-
Today, there are various material options available which are Environment friendly. There are many alternatives to wooden furniture with less use of wood and more use of waste, recycled and other products, which are not a threat to our environment.
Bamboo / cane Furniture, products and accessories – cane and bamboo are the materials which grow much faster than any wood species. Because it is a type of grass, the shoots grow at much faster rate unlike any tree. It is strong, sturdy as well as long lasting if protected in a right manner.
Bamboo is an excellent option for eco-friendly flooring as well. An Interior designers can offer various innovative ideas to use bamboo as a part of interior furnishing.
Sustainable and reclaimed wood are also great interior design options.
Sustainable wood products- These wood products are made with wood from managed forests. Also managed speciality plantation and farming of certain tree species can provide good quality, environmentally friendly wood. ( The difference between a regular and managed forest is that the latter is never destroyed in one clear-cutting as is the case with other forests. Only selected trees are removed, leaving behind a variety of different tree species. Each area of forest is then managed and replanted giving a 20-30 years cycle of regeneration of the forest to be complete before the felling starts again. This system does not deplete the land of its tree cover and it also ensures a constant supply of wood.)
Various sizes of logs, sections, mouldings as well as door leaf panels, wall cladding panels etc.are made out of this wood which further can be used for various Architecture and Interior applications.
Reclaimed wood products- Products that are made from wood that is recovered from old structures,flooring or furniture and recycled for further use. No fresh tree is cut to create a reclaimed wood product.
Use of Fibre Board, Bamboo board and Particle / chip Board.
Furniture made out of straws / vegetable fibre boards, known as MDF or fibre board is also an Environmental friendly option. There are many options available in fibre board i.e. panels for decorations, mouldings and floorings. Laminated particle / fibre board flooring is an Eco Friendly interior option.
Use of Environment friendly fabrics for home furnishings- environment friendly fabrics for homes and interiors are usually made from cotton. It is cool, and 100 % bio degradable. Apart from cotton there are many other natural fibres like wool, hemp, silk, bamboo, jute and other fibres of vegetable or plant origin are used in making these organic products. Home furnishings like curtains, upholstery, carpets, mats, linens, bedspreads, cushion covers etc. should be made in the above range of fibres.
Recycled metal tiles and decorative wall panels – These are available in aluminium, brass with variety of textures and finishes. They can be used for wall cladding as well as for floorings of showrooms, kitchens, bathrooms and many other places. They especially look good when contrasted with wood or any such rustic material.
Mats / Tiles / boards made out of grass, reeds, Coir is also a very good eco friendly option for interiors.
Use of Eco friendly paints-
Odour free paints ( low VOC or no VOC paints )
These paints contain ingredients that are made from naturally-derived raw materials. These environment friendly products ensure a healthier body and greener environment to live. The Eco-Paints are Non-toxic with zero or almost negligible VOC (Volatile Organic Content) and have almost no odour and can be tinted to any colour one desires with non-toxic tints. Eco Paints are also safe for the chemically sensitive people. Now more and more companies are coming up with range of such products .
Heat resistant or heat reflective paints It is a heat reflective coating applied mainly on the roofs and external walls to avoid / reduce external heat penetration. This, in a way insulates the walls and roof which results in cooler interior environment, lesser use of air conditioning and heavy reductions in the air conditioning costs.

Use of Solar Equipments – Products like Solar Lamps, Solar Water Heaters, Solar Air Conditioners, Solar Street lights and Exterior Lights and other equipments can help reduce the stress on the electrical consumption by using the renewable solar energy.
Use of LED Lamps for various Interior and Exterior Applications
The main advantage is that the LED lamp lasts not less than 10 yrs ( for about 50,000 burning hours ) without any maintenance which is approx.10 times more than other conventional light sources. They can be dimmed with help of dimmers or sensors which allows achieving optimal control of power and energy savings. Due to extremely low power consumption, there are tremendous cost savings on electricity bills.
These lamps are free from mercury and so are environment friendly.
They are suitable for most of the applications where CFL lamps, Tube lights or bulbs are used for interior as well as Architectural, Retail and Industrial options.
Use of Water saving Faucets and other Equipments-
With the use of toilets that do not require water for flushing or the toilets that convert the excreta into compost are available now days. Even waterless urinals are available in the market. Various water taps, showers and other fitting that use mixture of air with water can reduce the consumption of water up to 50%. The use of Economy flushing systems can help saving 50% of water used for flushing purposes. The use of sensors for taps in public bathrooms can also save a lot of water.
Waste Water Recycling and Rainwater Harvesting- The water from kitchens, baths and wash basins is treated and recycled for flushing and gardening purposes which also saves about 50-70% of fresh potable water. Catching and harvesting the rain waters for various purposes is the other option which can help fight water scarcity in most of the areas in the world for various purposes.
With an urge to save our planet and help the future generations , Every Designer must develop a keen eye for such “Green” Details.