Green earth - living naturally with responsibility and sustainability
The Austrian company Grüne Erde has been developing and producing furniture, fashion, cosmetics and home textiles such as sofas and mattresses made from renewable natural materials in regional workshops with the highest standards of craftsmanship since 1983. Timeless design, uncompromising quality and transparent supply chains form the foundation of the brand. With numerous certifications and quality seals, Grüne Erde creates trust and demonstrates: Sustainability, aesthetics and responsibility are inseparable - and have been for over 40 years.
INTERVIEWER
What makes your company a sufficiency-oriented company?
GREEN EARTH
We deliberately avoid metal, plastic and synthetic surfaces in our furniture. Instead, we oil and wax them. Not waxing in the sense of getting bigger, but applying beeswax to the surface - as has been customary for centuries. This makes the surfaces breathable, durable and easy to maintain.
Our furniture can also be dismantled, can withstand 20-30 moves and can be repaired or re-produced if necessary. Any imperfections can simply be sanded out and re-oiled - after which the furniture looks like new again. In contrast, conventional furniture is often broken after two moves. Our aim is for furniture to last as long as it takes a tree to grow back - i.e. 70 to 120 years. We use art nouveau furniture as a model, which still works after 125 years because it can be refurbished again and again.
"Furniture should last as long as a tree needs to grow back - i.e. 70 to 120 years."
This is of course more difficult with home textiles: a mattress is hygienically worn out after 8-12 years and should be replaced. In addition, we offer our customers a lifetime guarantee, whereby the lifetime refers to the „life“ of the product, not the life of the customer.
INTERVIEWER
And how long is that?
GREEN EARTH
For furniture, I would say 35 years. And if it's a little over that and we have the feeling that it was our fault that the furniture broke, then we'll do it as a gesture of goodwill. In the case of a linen sheet, cushion cover and so on, three years, mattresses eight years. In other words, we simply define product lifetimes and during this time we will replace, repair and, in extreme cases, refund money. This is our lifetime guarantee, which is based on the lifespan of the product.
INTERVIEWER
Are there any other aspects that make your company a sufficiency-oriented company?
GREEN EARTH
We engage in lobbying and activism for non-growth structures - albeit very discreetly. We support Attac, Fridays for Future and similar NGOs in the
environmental and ecological issues, without being overt about it. We don't deny it, but we don't put it in the foreground either. We were more active at Fridays For Futures: our store was open during the strike from noon to 2 p.m., but we didn't offer advice or sell anything. Instead, we served coffee and talked to our employees about climate change and sustainability. We wanted to set an example and consciously create space for exchange.
INTERVIEWER
Are there factors that facilitate the implementation of sufficiency?
GREEN EARTH
The question comes as a surprise, I had hardly thought about it before. It often feels like we're swimming against the tide. At the same time, however, we feel a tailwind in German-speaking countries - thanks to the climate and environmental debate and the ecological tradition. As a result, we enjoy a lot of trust. We are seen as „everyone's darling“ in terms of credibility, values and ethics. This makes our work much easier. In this respect, we are not tilting at windmills.
