Green Maker Initiative case study

The free initiative invites makers, in all areas of craft design and making, to sign a pledge to monitor, manage and reduce the environmental impact of their practice. In return, members are part of a community that can share resources and ideas around sustainability, as well as join exhibitions and proudly display the Green Maker Initiative logo on their merchandise.

During an early Green Maker Initiative event, different creative communities were brought together to network, view the exhibitions and exchange unwanted, but useable materials such as leather offcuts. 

Dr Emma Whittaker interviewed attendees about the actions they were taking to lessen the environmental impact of their practice. These details were added to paper tags and pinned to a giant map on the walls of the gallery. Now available as a digital map, it is a growing public resource showcasing designer makers focusing on sustainability. The event also included an exhibition of members’ work - a ‘Perfectly Imperfect’ sale, encouraging makers to sell, rather than discard, less-than-perfect items.

Through the Initiative, Dr Whittaker has been able to gather and analyse information from people working across the creative industries – from basket making to textiles to bookbinding – to understand the challenges they face and collate examples of good practice.

The most frequent action taken to reduce environmental impact related to the recycling of materials, both reprocessing materials like paper and cotton into new items as well as recycling materials sourced second-hand from charity shops, scrap stores or army surplus. Emphasis was particularly placed on reusing old packaging and making sure it can be recycled by the customer. 

Many makers mentioned seeing their crafts’ remnants or waste as a creative opportunity to develop something new, such as making miniature items or components. Other recycling approaches included reassigning textile scraps as stuffing material and wood shavings for packaging or animal bedding. 

It is common practice for makers working with precious metals to melt down their scrap but also collect the lemel (dust/small pieces) that can be recycled by specialist companies. 

Several members noted how they are reducing energy consumption by insulating their studios, using LED lighting, choosing renewable energy suppliers or using heat pumps and solar power to produce renewable energy. 

Travel is highlighted by makers as a key challenge, with many makers in the South West living rurally and relying on petrol vehicles. To address this, members mentioned actively reducing journeys by combining posting, shopping or meeting trips and also lift sharing with other makers when attending events, shows and markets. Cycling was highlighted by a number of interviewees as a main way of travelling locally and using a cargo bike in an urban setting was an aspiration for some.