Our Eco Initiative

At Inhabit, we firmly believe that being in business should mean being a green business,
there should no longer be a distinction between the two. We feel old business models are obsolete and operating under a sleeker, less wasteful and more efficient model should be a priority for all businesses. We feel we cater to a customer base who is on the leading edge of understanding what you put in your home has a direct effect on your health. This is where the "surround yourself" tagline originated, and we feel our products themselves should be products of a more responsible manufacturing and sourcing practice that contribute to reducing or removing waste from the consumption cycle. As designers we have to accept the challenge that the title now carries this responsibility. So what are we doing today and how do we plan to do better tomorrow?

For the past 8 years Inhabit has purchased all power from our local power co-op’s Green Power Initiative which generates clean, carbon and emission-free electricity from wind mill farms located across our state.

As a company no paper or cardboard generated internally or brought into our facility in the form of packaging, mail, printing, etc... leaves our facility in the form of trash. It is all shredded and repurposed as packing material.

Additionally we participate in local recycling programs to collect our glass and plastic waste.
About two thirds of our product line, including all graphic pillows, stretched wall art and Slats are produced in the US and printed on fabrics derived from certified post-consumer recycled materials such as plastic bottles and milk jugs.

This keeps these items out of landfills and we produce a product with it that is a non-disposable commodity and recyclable again at the end of its lifecycle. This portion of our product line is created using a “create on demand” model. Meaning nothing is actually created until an order is received. This allows Inhabit to operate out of a facility considerably smaller than similar sized manufacturers. Because we keep no stock of these item we eliminate the need to warehouse and store them. This means less square footage to heat, cool, light, etc...

We use a close looped printing process that produces no waste. It’s actually designed to prevent waste therefore leaving nothing to treat, clean up or dispose of. It uses VOC-free water-based inks in a create-on-demand set up. Meaning there is no ink wasted for set up or minimum amounts required to run the system. If the system is running we are creating a product that has already been ordered.

We have recently introduced three new product lines all produced from Oeko-Tex® 100 certified fabrics and PVC-free packaging. This was the first step in converting our entire bedding and sheeting category into fabrics that are derived from 100% certified organic sources. All new products introduced into our bedding category will adhere to these standards. Once this is complete all fabrics used on all Inhabit products will be certified organic or certified recycled.

Wall Flats™ from Inhabit® are made from Bagasse. It is one of the world's most renewable resources. Scraps are biodegradable and can be recycled with other paper products or composted. Wall Flats nest inside each other to create low volume cartons that ship easily with common small parcel carriers. The bamboo is farmed sustainably and there is no deforestation in order to grow it. The level of AOX in the effluent water from fibre processing does not exceed 250 ppm and the emission of sulphur compounds to air from the processing does not exceed an annual average of 120 g/kg for filament fibre produced and 30 g/kg for staple fibre produced. The emission to water of zinc from the production site does not exceed an annual average of 0.3 g/kg. We have accepted the responsibility that we must be part of the solution. We also understand that we can always be doing more or doing what we are doing better. With that said we welcome feedback or suggestions in this area.