Turning 'worthless' waste streams of plastic and natural fibers into 'valuable' circular office furnishings through upcycling techniques.
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Establishing a responsible supply chain. That is the mission of TRIBOO, the new partner of Smart WorkPlace. Director Marc van der Heijden explains.
What developments does TRIBOO see for the work environment of the future?
"A few years ago I discovered that there is a huge waste of existing materials in the office furnishing market. For years, offices were furnished by the furniture industry with a lack of responsibility and vision. Without customers knowing exactly what they were buying, unhealthy and low-quality cheap products were brought in from countries on the other side of the world. To then be put down in what looked on paper to be sustainable buildings and offices. The office became a warehouse of toxic materials and worthless furniture, where CO2 emissions played no role. At the end of its economic life, the furniture disappears into the second-hand market, is shipped to third-world countries or, after being thrown into containers, is processed as waste and ends up in an incinerator or in a landfill where we bury it in the ground. In my eyes, as a HUMAN, you have then lost your way and no longer understand what life is really about! This led me to the plan of founding TRIBOO. A responsible supply chain that turns 'worthless' waste streams of plastic and natural fibers into 'valuable' circular office furniture through upcycling techniques."
What role does TRIBOO see for itself in this?
"We design, manufacture and supply circular products. Furnish healthy and responsible projects. Develop innovative products and high-profile concepts with their own identity and sustainable story. Through our technological innovations and production methods, we reduce CO2 emissions, bring healthy and reusable materials into a closed raw material loop and ensure that we do not waste raw materials and create waste.
TRIBOO functions as a bank that temporarily lends its valuable resources to organizations in the form of furniture. If the customer, due to changes in organization or market, needs to function differently and needs different furniture to facilitate this, TRIBOO gets the furniture back. For the new demand we develop and produce from the same raw material other circular furniture. A desktop can change into a kitchen, wall, flower box or back into a desktop. With a design based on the identity of the organization. Our customers see quality furniture and we see kilos of raw materials. Together we take care of our valuable materials and take responsibility for our products. We store them in healthy office environments without incurring storage costs. And at the end of the useful life, the customer of TRIBOO receives the raw material value back in euros! How nice is that!"
Why is a platform like Smart WorkPlace an important factor for TRIBOO to participate in?
"Smart WorkPlace is the knowledge platform of choice to take our message further. In addition to bringing knowledge, Smart WorkPlace also raises awareness. As far as I'm concerned, that's the crux of the matter. Because it's not just about knowing what's happening, more important is that people are aware of why something needs to be done. We burn and waste our resources and in doing so destroy our own future and that of our children. In recent years there has been intensive discussion about this topic, the real pioneers however are not us but the people who tried to bring this to the attention 30 years ago. We are, however, the generation that has to DO it. Not by talking anymore, but on an industrial scale to DO it differently than all previous generations. Otherwise there is absolutely no point and we and our children will have to deal with a hostile environment with a lot of grief. And this is something that is NOT going to happen in my world. If every individual takes responsibility and we do it by the millions we can easily face a problem brought by the media as almost unsolvable. A platform like Smart WorkPlace understands these developments, brings news, but also organizes moments of discussion and reflection. And that is what we need together on the road to a different way of dealing with each other, with animals, with our environment and with our resources."
In the photo: Marc van der Heijden (right) and Martijn Vinke of TRIBOO.
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