A fifth generation Yorkshire business has won two industry awards recognising its work in sustainability.
National trade body the British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM), announced Harrison Spinks as winner of the Sustainability category in the Future of Furniture Awards, held at the January Furniture Show.
Group Sustainability Manager at Harrison Spinks, Emma Linney-Taylor was also named as Sustainability Champion by the BFM.
Based in Leeds, the business mixes home-grown, state-of-the-art technology with a team of skilled artisans using traditional techniques to produce luxury handcrafted beds and mattresses.
The company’s drive to source raw materials more responsibly, reduce environmental impact and conserve resources, while improving product performance, has led to a number of innovations.
These have included the use of natural fillings grown at the company’s farms near Tadcaster, reducing chemical use by weaving mattress fabrics in-house, introducing digitalisation to reduce energy consumption and shifting from offshore carbon offsetting to environmental restoration.
Nick Booth, Managing Director at Harrison Spinks said: “We’re delighted to have won these awards.
“Sustainability is an increasingly important subject, especially in the mattress and bed industry, where thousands of mattresses are sent to landfill every day. Making mattresses in the most sustainable way has been a priority for us for a number of years now.
“With Emma’s tremendous support, sustainability is firmly embedded across everything we do. Her passion, commitment and knowledge have helped deliver, and in many areas exceed, our sustainability goals.
“We’re very proud of the fact that we’ve won these two awards. We work extremely hard to make the most responsible beds possible, and that’s why we weave our own mattress fabrics, we grow our own natural fibres at our own farm and make our own award-winning springs.”
The BFM Future of Furniture Awards for Excellence in Sustainability and Sustainability Champion recognise exemplary work by BFM members in moving towards a more sustainable future.
A panel of judges considered a number of criteria for the award, including evidence of a commitment to continuous improvement in sustainability, an action plan for the next three to five years and a willingness to lead and empower others.
BFM Managing Director, Phil Spademan said: “Our Future of Furniture Awards celebrate the members that are investing not only in the future of their businesses, but in our industry and our communities.
“I’d like to congratulate the team at Harrison Spinks and Emma for the outstanding work that is recognised with these awards.”
