Joakim Helland on sustainability

Sustainability is about solidarity and concern for future generations - in addition to us living today. We only have one planet, with a limited amount of resources, and it is in our collective interest to take care of it.

Sustainable thinking
The term sustainability has been frequently used in recent decades. However, thinking sustainably is nothing new. Already at the start of Helland's Lenestolfabrikk in 1947, the idea of founder Johan Helland was that we should produce timeless and durable furniture of high quality. When Helland switched to producing furniture for the public market at the end of the 60s, the need to produce durable furniture became even more relevant.

For us, it is about more than components and materials that are not harmful to the environment. Our furniture should last for many decades without breaking. In Europe alone, 10 million tonnes of furniture are thrown away every year and it goes without saying that such a use-and-throw mentality is not sustainable.

That is why we have made it possible to buy removable and washable covers for large parts of our collection. This makes it easy to maintain and clean the furniture. Interior trends change and by renewing the fabric on the piece of furniture, you ensure that it lives on in a new guise. In addition, several individual parts of our furniture can be replaced if something should be damaged.

Sustainable furniture production
Already in 2002, Helland Møbler AS was certified according to the ISO-14001 standard. This standard is an environmental management system that we work according to in order to achieve environmental and financial objectives. We are committed to continuous development. New targets are set each year to improve our performance within the choice of materials, waste management, energy use, emissions, working environment and social conditions to name a few. To prove this, we are audited annually by approved auditing companies.

In 2019, we became the first furniture supplier in Scandinavia to be awarded the Nordic Ecolabel for large parts of the furniture collection. Our products were awarded the award after passing the strict criteria for the award. One of the requirements is i.a. FSC certified wood that can be traced to forests where operations are sustainable and social, economic and environmental requirements are met.

Material quality and production finish have a high focus.