Unlock New Opportunities for Thought Leadership with SB Webinars

Circular Homeware Startup to Disrupt Global Furniture Industry with Landfill-to-Lifestyle Model

A pioneering new sustainable homeware and accessories brand has emerged on the market and is ready to radically transform the way furniture is made forever. Materials sourcing is where digital furniture startup Pentatonic sets itself apart from its industry counterparts, with its line of contemporary designer homeware fabricated entirely from post-consumer waste.

A pioneering new sustainable homeware and accessories brand has emerged on the market and is ready to radically transform the way furniture is made forever. Materials sourcing is where digital furniture startup Pentatonic sets itself apart from its industry counterparts, with its line of contemporary designer homeware fabricated entirely from post-consumer waste.

The concept — led by Jamie Hall, former Global GM of NikeLab at Nike and head of marketing at Levi’s UK; and Johann Boedecker, former GM of Corporate Business of Miniwiz — has already garnered significant attention and attracted €4,700,000 in its first round of funding. The brand plans to launch its first collection of customizable, flat-packaged furniture during this year’s London Design Festival.

Unlike many other offerings on the market, Pentatonic’s products are fully recyclable and offer a buy-back guarantee, thereby establishing a circular model in which consumers play both the part of customer and supplier. Once recovered, the raw materials are added back into the production loop, recycled, recrafted and resold.

Circularity is embedded into the design of each and every Pentatonic piece — product components aid in the construction of each piece, eliminating the need for complicated assembly processes and chemical-laden glues and resins, while also minimizing unnecessary waste. What's more, post-consumer materials are matched to products based on their unique properties and application possibilities.

Circularity by Design: How to Influence Sustainable Consumer Behaviors

Join us Thursday, December 5, at 1pm ET for a free webinar on making circular behaviors the easy choice! Nudge & behavioral design expert Sille Krukow will explore the power of Consumer Behavior Design to drive circular decision-making and encourage behaviors including recycling and using take-back services. She will share key insights on consumer psychology, behavior design related to in-store and on-pack experiences, and how small changes in the environment can help make it easy for consumers to choose circularity.

“Our non-negotiable commitment to the consumer is that we make our products using single materials. That means no toxic additives and no hybridized materials which are prohibitive of recyclability. As such, this represents a radical departure from the traditional design, manufacturing and consumer service models in the homeware and accessories industry,” Boedecker said.

“This enables us to simply recycle our products at the end of life and thus brings our consumer into our supply chain. This inclusivity and incentivizing will deliver an almost zero waste of our products post-use.”

While many designers and industry giants — IKEA being a notable exception — are just starting to toy with the idea of circularity and responsible sourcing, Pentatonic is blazing new trails with its sustainability-focused business model — a move that could position them far ahead of competitors in a rapidly changing market.

As Hall and Boedecker told Dezeen: “Recycling and circular manufacturing has evolved rapidly in recent years and we are now at a point where it can offer not just comparable, but superior performance from traditional methodologies."

Upcoming Events

October 13-16, 2025
SB'25 San Diego
US Event
More Information

Thursday, December 5, 2024
Circularity by Design: How to Influence Sustainable Consumer Behaviors
Webinar
Sponsored by Sustainable Brands
More Information

December 11-12, 2024
SB Member Network: Shifting Customer Behavior and Demand December Member Meeting
Member Event
Sponsored by Amazon
More Information

Related Stories

Pursuing AI Responsibly: A Business Technologist Perspective ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Pursuing AI Responsibly: A Business Technologist Perspective
AI: The Good, the Bad, the Sketchy and the Lifesaving ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR SUSTAINABILITY
AI: The Good, the Bad, the Sketchy and the Lifesaving
Redesigning the Food System for Resilience: Lessons from the Field REGENERATION & RESILIENCE
Redesigning the Food System for Resilience: Lessons from the Field
Bioengineering, Biomimicry Spawn Novel Solutions to Marine Plastic Pollution INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY
Bioengineering, Biomimicry Spawn Novel Solutions to Marine Plastic Pollution
Helios: An Out-of-This-World Solution for Decarbonizing Steelmaking INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY
Helios: An Out-of-This-World Solution for Decarbonizing Steelmaking
Unilever Refreshing Fragrance Formulas with Upcycled Flowers INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY
Unilever Refreshing Fragrance Formulas with Upcycled Flowers