Haworth

In our last post about Haworth, we told the story about their recycling center at their Holland, MI headquarters, a nearly 20,000-square foot facility that handles metal, cardboard, plastics, and other material generated in their office and on the factory floor. But what happens to the furniture they manufacture once it reaches the end of its life? Haworth has continued to work to “close the loop” on their products and ensure that their entire lifecycle is accounted for. 

Haworth understands true circularity requires two steps: sourcing recycled material to make products, and developing systems to ensure that their furniture can be recycled at the end of its life. One example involves their work with another Recycle, MI partner, PADNOS, to recycle plastic scraps from the injection molding process. PADNOS then delivers these scraps back to Haworth’s injection molding partner so that the plastic can be re-incorporated into new Haworth products. They’re currently working to capture and recycle more materials, such as the hard plastics that make up Haworth’s office chairs. Haworth even collects sawdust, drywall scrap, and cafeteria food from their factories and headquarters to be sent to a commercial composter!

Haworth makes sure that their circular policies extend beyond the factory and into the showrooms that display their furniture, as well as within their local community. All Haworth showrooms must use reusable cutlery in the office and have recycling available to employees. After all, Haworth is proud to incorporate recycling and composting into their company DNA, and they hope that other companies follow suit, as further industry participation solidifies recycling systems and ensures that there’s enough material to go around. Haworth opens their recycling center in Holland to local schools, working to inspire the next generation of circular leaders to follow in Haworth’s footsteps.