We thought April would be a great time to let our customers, fans, and proud owners of our twig chandeliers and custom rugs know what we’re doing to help save the planet! Usually this isn’t something we make a big deal of. That’s because we feel that our custom rugs and rustic lighting fixtures stand on their own merit. Plus, being environmentally conscious and socially responsible is the right thing to do every day, not just once a year. That said, we thought you might enjoy learning what we are doing to help make going green more stylish.
Custom Shag Rugs with Ultrasuede®
What is Ultrasuede? We’re glad you asked! Ultrasuede is an ultra-microfiber, ultra-durable fabric invented in 1970 by Dr. Miyoshi Okamoto of Toray Industries. It’s often described as a great substitute for suede leather, and for good reason! The look and feel is fantastic! It’s very similar to leather even though it’s not explicitly designed or marketed as a replacement for it. Even though Ultrasuede has the advantages of leather—durability, strength, comfort, and style—it has a lot of advantages of its own!
When it was first created, Ultrasuede was a type of polyester. This contributes to its remarkable strength and durability, and especially to its ease of maintenance. Did you know that it’s machine-washable!? Of course, you’re not likely to throw your sofa’s upholstery in the laundry… But you can definitely do that with our custom area rugs! If they’re too big, they come apart with seamless yet secure joints into machine-washable segments.
How Ultrasuede® HP is Going Green
Toray hasn’t just been resting on its laurels, though. In recent years, there’s been a huge, green innovation in Ultrasuede’s underlying technology: plant fiber! 30% of the polyester fiber used to make Ultrasuede® HP fabric has been replaced with plant-based fiber. And not just any plants! The fiber they use comes from a by-product of sugarcane processing. The non-edible waste products after the sugar is made are normally just thrown away and usually wind up in landfills. Instead, the manufacturing process of Ultrasuede up-cycles that plant fiber. It becomes beautiful, luxurious coverings for floors, furnishings, and even car interiors!
The evolution of Ultrasuede isn’t stopping there, either! Through ongoing R&D, Toray is committed to eventually creating a 100% plant-based version. We can’t wait to incorporate it into our soft, luxurious, ultra-shag artisan rugs! Until then, we’re happy to use 30% plant-based Ultrasuede® High-Performance, to pass on its beauty, durability, comfort, strength, and machine-washability along to you… not to mention its environmental friendliness!
Other Ways WishDesigns Can Help You Go Green
Now that you know that our stunning Ultrasuede custom rugs are an increasingly green product, what else are we doing to help you help the environment with smart decorating choices? Well, our twig chandeliers are inherently sustainably sourced. Most manufacturing of wooden furnishings and decor is pretty wasteful. A lot of the wood cut down ends up as sawdust and wood chips on the floor! Instead, we gather twigs and branches the hickory trees no longer need, and turn them into stunning centerpieces and accents. The process we use to do this is green, doing no harm to the trees or environment. It results in beautiful, durable rustic lighting solutions perfect for your next project.
Each of our chandeliers and sconces is also lit by one or more candelabra bulbs. We hand-dip our bulbs in silicone to give them the appearance of candles with none of the waste. In fact, ultra-efficient LED bulbs have reached a level of light quality that they’re totally worthy of that treatment. And, of course, all of our rustic lighting solutions are UL-certified for safety and wellness. That means you can legally use them in new construction and renovation alike!
Let us know how we can help your next design project incorporate some nature-inspired luxury that’s genuinely helpful to nature!
