We produce 90% of our woollen textiles in our co-owned production facilities, Wooltex in the UK and Innvik in Norway. This allows us to continuously innovate our production processes, minimising environmental impact at every stage while maintaining transparency and documentation. In fact, we have Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for 36 of our woollen textiles, ensuring that we can provide you with information about their environmental impact.
Mindful making
Wooltex
Wooltex is based in Yorkshire, the UK, in an area synonymous with textile production. Here, generations worth of knowledge are applied to an evermore-efficient wool production process.
Innvik
Innvik, in the mountainous Nordfiord area of Norway, has over 130 years of experience in the production of high quality wool textiles and is especially skillful at producing custom made designs.
Owning the production facilities gives us greater control over our woollen textiles’ quality and design innovation. Together with Wooltex, we have developed a process to recycle wool waste into new textiles, recycling 25 tons of woollen waste in 2022 through the sales of Re-wool and Sabi.
The production of wool requires significant water usage for cleaning the fibres. However, at Wooltex, we can recycle 79% of the water used, and at Innvik, our weaving mill in Norway, we have invested in a new dying house powered by local bioenergy that will save 20% of the water usage.
Today, 100% of the electricity is already sourced from renewable hydropower. In 2022, we made improvements to our air compression system at Innvik, which has made our weaving processes more energy efficient. This change not only helps the environment but also saved us 30% on our electricity consumption.
We love wool
At Kvadrat, we love wool and leverage all its qualities, but our interest in this raw material begins long before it is transformed into textile. It begins with the wool supplier, a sheep farmer in Southern Australia or New Zealand, and continues throughout the farming and production processes.
While most of our woollen upholsteries use wool sourced from Australia and New Zealand, some are crafted with wool from Norway and the UK.
Sheep farming holds immense economic and cultural significance in Australia and New Zealand. Australia boasts six sheep per human, and New Zealand’s agriculture and forestry industries employ over 141,400 people. We source wool from these countries for two key reasons. Firstly, their farms are dedicated to sustainable practices and employ efficient traditional techniques. Secondly, they consistently produce high-quality wool.
Animal welfare
Sheep must be sheared once a year to maintain their health and prevent suffocation. At Kvadrat, we believe animal welfare and high-quality wool are closely linked to our corporate values and responsible approach. We ensure that our wool suppliers follow our code of conduct and adhere to the Five Freedoms of animal welfare.
The wool we use comes from crossbreed sheep, known for their durable, resilient, and soft wool. The consistent environment in Australia and New Zealand has allowed for the development of generational skills and expertise in sheep farming.