Can you have it all – a sleek product that is also sustainable?

What do you think about when you think about products you love? The way they look and feel? The positive emotions they help to evoke? Or are you worried that your amazing product comes with a burden of damaging the planet and also the health of the users who have bought it?

First things first: there is absolutely no need to worry. If your favourite product has been designed from well-chosen parts with a bigger picture in mind, the chances are that you are not dealing with a monster. But let’s take a closer look!

When thinking of what constitutes a great product, the answer can be found in three basic principles:

1) It solves a real problem for its user

Whether it is an app to alert you of upcoming appointments, a cat flap that does not let the neighbour’s furry friends feast in your kitchen or an office pod where you can enjoy the privacy your conversation deserves, a great product takes a problem and solves it an elegantly straightforward manner.

2) It looks the part

In other words, it is wholesome. Not only is it purposefully designed but that design is organically reinforced by a brand that communicates its unique selling points and the beliefs that have gone into it in an emotionally relevant way. The copywriting and the tone of voice are in turn supported by the sales team and everyone else involved. In other words, everything supports everything else.

3) It is designed to last

We live in a world where planned obsolescence is often seen as trendy. Many products are designed to have a relatively short lifespan, to be thrown away and replaced as soon as the next model gets launched. A sustainably designed product, however, is able to meet the needs of the present without robbing the future generations from a chance to go after theirs.

Find your sustainable partner in an office pod

There are meeting pods out there that are designed and engineered to prioritise the well-being and safety of their users. An office phone booth may not change the entire CO2 output of your company but using a phone booth that is designed with respect for the planet in mind will help you create a more sustainable work environment for everyone in it.

When you think of privacy pods, you probably think of the importance of solid sound isolation and well-functioning air circulation. All that holds but there are additional qualities to consider: designs and materials that ensure a long life for the office pod.

Silen privacy pods are designed to complement the times we are living in. These days the roles of jobs and industries are in a constant flux, so we made the pod sizes easily adaptable and upgradeable. It is the only way that makes sense. The meeting pods are ready to grow and adapt when your company is, and all that without you having to create any unnecessary waste.

How to recognise responsible design?

An “environment-friendly” product design doesn’t just mean avoiding toxic chemicals. One of the  effective ways to spot a responsibly designed product is to check whether all the main stages of the product’s life-cycle are optimised in a way that either help to save energy (meaning, the environment) or to minimise waste.

These 4 life-cycle stages are:

• Manufacturing

The materials that go into every soundproof office booth are carefully chosen to support the long-term health of their users and of the environment in which they operate. Wherever possible, Silen opts for using meeting pod materials that are recyclable or which’s ingredients are certified to be safe for humans and for the planet.

• Transportation

It is the little things that add up, right? We package Silen’s privacy pods into Nefab plywood boxes for transportation. This plywood is safe for environment and to humans, and can either be reused or recycled at the end of the product life cycle, with a minimum on environmental impact.

• Use

Here’s to one of our most favourite functions – Silen’s modular meeting pods come on wheels! You can roll your phone box or your office pod anywhere you want and change their location easily within your office space. The modular structure means that you can change your pod sizes when the need comes without having to throw away the old privacy booth for a newer module. When an office pod is designed to last, no waste gets created.

• Disposal (or second life)

No one likes a massive hassle. When it is too hard to take a product apart, it is seldom given a second chance. When moving office, you can take your office pod with you as it is not permanently built into to the environment. You have no need to buy anything new and you will not need to take many days to dismantle your privacy pods.

Having fun without robbing from the future

See? It is all possible. Designers and companies have a lot of power to positively impact our environment while creating top-notch products that look and feel good. So next time when you enjoy the silence or just the sleekness of your favourite meeting pod, take a moment to think about how sometimes you can have it all, indeed.