We have chosen to focus on a single material that is locally abundant. Our range is made entirely from Scots Pine, which is the most populous tree in Finland, making up approximately 44% of all forests. We have chosen the material based on opportunity and locality, not fashion.

Materials

We have chosen to focus on a single material that is locally abundant. Our range is made entirely from Scots Pine, which is the most populous tree in Finland, making up approximately 44% of all forests. We have chosen the material based on opportunity and locality, not fashion.

Finland is widely recognized for its sustainable forestry practices, and we strive to source our pine from certified forests in Finland. Over 99,99% of the pine we use originates from Finnish forests. Only for our lighting, we use FSC certified pine veneer sourced from Poland.

Our surface treatment materials (Osmo Color hardwax-oil 3062 matt) and adhesives (Kiilto Pro B3 for indoor furniture and Kiilto Pro D4 for outdoor furniture) are all M1 certified, which means that they have very low emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC’s).

For packaging, we use solely recyclable cardboard and honeycomb to protect the products. All the packaging for outdoor furniture is made from recycled cardboard, and the packaging for our indoor furniture is made partly from recycled cardboard. Whenever possible, we reuse our packaging.

Design

Our purpose is to make striking yet simple objects that will endure for generations. We are working on creating circular design principles to guide our design process. We choose materials that are responsibly sourced and age with beauty. Our designs are constructed for durability, and are easily maintained, repaired and recycled.

Read more about the care and maintenance of Vaarnii products.

Production

We choose our makers very carefully and work with a small number of local, Finnish makers. These are established factories specializing in a particular kind of manufacturing and larger-scale production, or they are small workshops. The artistry of every workshop, factory, or individual is explicit in our products.

All our suppliers comply with our Supplier Code of Conduct, which requires that the supplier has either an environmental management system certification, for example ISO 14001 certification, or reports on their environmental management in production to Vaarnii annually.

We have started to work on identifying Vaarnii’s greenhouse gas emissions. We have already identified our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions according to the GHG protocol, as well as familiarized ourselves with the emission sources of our products. Next, we intend to identify our Scope 3 emissions.  That’s where the most of our emissions stem from as it covers the emissions in our value chain, including our material acquisition and production. After identifying our emissions, the next step is to start calculating and reporting our company and product level greenhouse gas emissions.

In the future, our goal is to identify the broader environmental impacts of our value chain activities, including the effects that our own and suppliers’ operations have on biodiversity and natural ecosystem.

The principles of how we work are specified in our Company Code of Conduct. These principles follow the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact, which are divided into four parts, including Human Rights, Labour Standards, Environment, and Anti-Corruption.

For our collaborators, we have our own Supplier Code of Conduct that sets the standard for responsible business practices.