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INFURI - Materially

INFURI, a EU funded project for circularity in the furniture industry

The EU funded project INFURI continues its path in spreading knowledge on circular economy issues in the wood-furniture sector, to help SMEs change their approach to design and production, with a view to sustainable use of material resources. How are we doing this? The first tool is a collection of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses / Open online courses dedicated to a large-scale audience) focused on the theme: Managing a furniture company in the circular economy era. Each consortium partner has developed different courses: supply chain, materials, management practices, logistics, transportation, distribution, customer service, certifications and much more. All these contributions will soon be available on the project website.

2.1

Image by Symbola
 

A second tool, created for the dissemination of knowledge, is a book dedicated to the theme “Integrated skills and systemic approach in the circular economy era”.

Each chapter covers one of the following topics:

2.2

The book will present case studies of virtuous companies, through interviews. Materially, as a partner of the consortium, interviewed the company Biosofa within the Sustainable Design theme. Biosofa’s business plan is based on 100% natural materials, supply control and independent certification.

2.3
Image by Symbola
 

Biosofa is a typical Italian family business that has drawn on its transgenerational heritage in furniture manufacturing to produce sofas with entirely natural materials. Nature and respect for the planet, Italian manufacturing tradition and design are the heart of Biosofa: a company founded by Davide Barzaghi, with offices in Monza and Brianza. All products are handmade, and their supply chain is linked to the region.

“My husband Davide Barzaghi comes from a family of seven generations of furniture makers. From the age of fourteen he worked and learned in the family factories, acquired the trade and loved the beauty of the designs. He began preparing to take over the activity one day” says Christine Sintermann, co-founder of Biosofa.

2.4
Image by Biosofa
 

The third tool developed within the INFURI project is a furniture purchasing guide, which considers multiple aspects of circularity such as materials, design processes, production, and transport. The guidelines first aim to educate and disseminate knowledge on circular economy, in particular what is meant by circular economy in relation to the wood-furniture sector.

 

2.5

Circular procurement guidelines for Office Furniture
 

Materially, leader of this activity, organized an upcoming online workshop to collect information from companies and evaluate their needs when purchasing furniture that takes circularity into consideration. After this phase, versatile and easy-to-use guidelines will be defined. The aim of the guide is to provide practical tips and advice on where to find relevant information and how to identify products. This tool will be created through the Miro platform and uploaded to Miroverse to make this resource available to any interested company, association, NGOs or citizen.

If you are interested in participating in the online workshop, register here on Wednesday 14 December from 10 to 12.

If you want to stay updated, follow the project.