Interview: "Hemp is a wonder fabric" says eco designer Helen Mudie

We first discovered the new eco and ethical interior design company, One Eco Home, at the Sustainability Show, where the striking furniture that designers Helen Mudie and Kate Millbank had on display caught our attention. We had a chat with Helen to find out a bit more about One Eco Home and the rising trend of eco and ethical interior design.

SmartPlanet: What inspired you to create One Eco Home?
Helen Mudie: I grew up in the country and have always had a great love and respect for nature. I had run my own business as an interior designer for several years and felt frustrated by the lack of design-led environmentally aware products available on the market, and also the lack of information and labelling on interiors products. I felt there was a gap between eco products and desirable design and felt the strong urge to bridge that.

SP: What’s your favourite eco design and why?
HM: I think it has to be the Zzo Chair (see image above) as it sums up what we are aiming for with amazing design coupled with care for the environment and people. The Zzo Chair is designed and made in Brazil and looks like a mid-century classic. It is made from FSC eucalyptus with Pau Ferro veneer wood. The FSC certification ensures the wood comes from a sustainably managed forest, so the chair is helping to preserve the Amazon and Mata Atlantica rainforests. As part of the FSC program working conditions, levels of pay and working hours are also regularly inspected to ensure employees are treated fairly and work in safe conditions.

SP: What’s your favourite eco material ?
HM: I think it has to be hemp, which is a wonder fabric. Hemp can grow virtually wild with very little water, pesticides or fertilisers, making it a much better alternative to cotton, which even when grown organically uses terrific amounts of water. Hemp can be produced in a myriad of weights and textures. We even have a hemp silk product in our textiles range which is as glamorous as satin.

SP: What has been the greatest challenge of creating an eco/ethical furnishings range?
HM: There have been many exciting challenges, but I think the most difficult has been the amount of work and research that we have put in to finding full information about a wide range of products. Many manufacturers are either unwilling or unable to provide us with all the information we need to do a proper assessment. Or you find that a suppliers 'eco' range is made in all the right ways, but is then flown halfway round the world to get here. The designer in me sometimes finds it hard to reject really beautiful products from the range, but we have set our standards and we are sticking firmly to them.

SP: How and why did you come up with your eco assessment labels? Do they work? (see bottom image)
HM: We came up with the eco assessment labels as a means of providing a full and level playing field around all the issues to do with sustainability and the environment. There are so many elements to consider that it is impossible to call any product eco and leave it at that. We consider whether products are fair trade but may have had to travel long distances to get here, or whether they are organic, renewable or recycled etc. We don’t put any weight on these factors -- we let the customer decide what is important to them as the purchaser. I would definitely say that they are working on many levels; they provide a rich form of feedback to suppliers on ways that they can improve their products, and this is already happening. They challenge us to maintain our standards and improve on them all the time. We currently only allow products with three or more symbols into the range, but at the moment we don't have any with less than four. It's a bit early to say whether customers like them. I think they appreciate the openness with which we describe our products, but there is some education to be done on the issues.

SP: What do you think is the next big thing within eco design/eco interiors?
HM: That’s a difficult question. Eco design is still so new -- there are all sorts of directions it could take. I think up until now, eco design has been quite conceptual -- furniture that obviously looks as though it has been made from recycled materials. That has been a great way of raising the issue and making a statement, but may not be what people will want to live with in their homes. I think what will really make a difference is when it becomes a natural part of life, so when people buy the products for their own sake rather than purely because they are 'green'. This year, I think we will see more of a crossover, so products won't just appear in articles on 'eco chic', they will just be part of the mainstream.

SP: Have you got any tips on how to improve our interior on a budget?
HM: Being green does often mean having to turn down the temptation to bargain hunt. Usually if something is really cheap it is because someone, somewhere is being exploited. My advice would also be to think about the long term and to buy quality pieces that last. Having said that, most of us do have a restricted budget and so it demands a creative approach to decorating. The simplest thing you can do to any interior to change it is to add a new colour to the walls. There are several companies offering eco-friendly paints, but our favourite for their lovely palette of colours is Auro. Second-hand is now 'Vintage' and is ultimately recycling. Someone else's rubbish may be your treasure; try ebay for some second-hand furniture bargains. And if you are having a re-vamp, you could boost your budget by selling your own items the same way.

Alba Wardrobe Armoire, £4200 and Raiz Quadrada Table, £590

Mesh Log Bag, £95 and Buckram Bowls, £26

One Eco Home's eco and ethical assessment labels:

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