Mumutane home designs answer consumer demand for eco-conscious lifestyle products

Climate change remains the world’s highest environmental priority with nearly half (46%) of consumers globally citing it among their top three concerns.  

Today the growing number of lifestyle brands for home and everyday lives that have sustainability in the heart of their design focus and in the way they source materials, emerge to meet consumer demand.

Mumutane range of unique cushions made sustainability with fabrics sourced from Africa.

According to new research from the 2022 Mintel Consulting Sustainability Barometer, the number of global consumers citing climate change as a top three environmental concern has risen from an average of 39% to 46% between 2021-22*.

Air quality (eg exhaust fumes, industrial emissions) (36%) and plastic pollution (eg ocean plastic) (33%) complete the world’s top three environmental concerns; however, concerns about plastic pollution are down slightly from 36% in 2021.

Growing awareness is evident as just under three in five (58%) consumers globally agree that extreme weather events (eg flooding, heatwaves) in the country where they live encourage them to personally do more activities to protect the environment. And it seems helping the planet brings with it a feel-good factor as an overwhelming 68% of consumers globally say doing things that benefit the environment makes them feel happy. While 38% say they want to show other people how they are doing good for the environment (eg by sharing on social media). A further 24% say they have researched their annual carbon footprint (eg with an online calculator or app).

Danish brand Mumutane's sustainable textile products were well-received during Design London held in September 2022 at Magazine London in north Greenwich.

Maria Kastrup Lausten 

In relaying her brand’s sustainable journey as well as the importance of incorporating a social impact aspect, founder Maria Kastrup Lausten said fair visitors including interior designers, architects, retail buyers and members of the press and media were eager to learn about interior design made from reused materials, and the different ways to build a circular business model.

The Mumutane range of home products feature traditional African prints presented with Nordic minimalism.  Maria uses leftover fabrics from Kvadrat (a Danish textile company that produces and supplies textiles and textile-related products), achieving unique cushion designs with a good balance of modern cross-cultural mix.

Cushions with African wax print in a Nordic setting

Maria said African wax print textiles contain many tales and stories of life in Africa, which give the products a special dimension and story.  Every cushion is unique, with the front made of wax print textile sourced from small, local textile shops in West Africa, and the back is made of high-quality wool-blended leftover textiles.

Padded "quiltet"

The environment and social responsibility agenda together with the “give work philosophy” is a mindset that is rooted in the core of the strategy of Mumutane, which became certified as a B Corporation in 2021, said Maria.

Table cloth in African print

Founder Maria added the objective is to create “products with purpose”, which is why Mumutane has a sustainable approach with a focus on minimising textile waste, improving work conditions in low-income countries and supporting production with social conscious and impact.

All images courtesy of Mumutane.