The average interior designer has 26 times the buying power of the average consumer; if you work for a large design firm, that ratio increases to 111 (U.S. Design Industry Benchmark Report for 2023, ThinkLab). Translation: Interior designers have a powerful role to play in making sure healthy materials with the lowest planetary impact make it into the spaces where we spend our lives. While that may sound like a weighty responsibility, change starts with the first step: setting up a healthy material library of the latest alternatives that meet the industry’s sustainability criteria. This workshop teaches you how. 

First, we will identify the top 10 material categories utilized in design work, assess the most common unhealthy options within them and consider the healthy alternatives. By breaking down top industry resources, exploring the significance behind different certifications and drafting a preliminary sustainability framework to follow going forward, attendees will leave the course feeling confident and empowered to grow a healthy material library of their own.

In this class, attendees will learn:

- Why interior designers need healthy material libraries 
- How to establish a healthy material library in your personal practice or firm
- The design industry’s Common Materials Framework of material health, climate, ecosystem health, circularity and social equity and how to apply it to your library’s sustainability criteria
- How to identify the top 10 material categories for your healthy library and use certifications and industry resources to source healthy alternatives for each  

After this class, attendees will have the skills to:

- Identify the top healthy material alternative categories for your work 
- Develop an organized, low-waste healthy material library
- Utilize industry certifications and resources to source healthy materials 
- Initiate conversations with your clients and vendor contacts about your healthy material library and the importance of utilizing it in design projects

Additional Information:

This workshop is conducted through Zoom webinar. All you need to join is reliable internet access and computer speakers with good volume.

BOH Insiders get unlimited free LAUNCH classes!

Click here to learn more. If you are already a BOH Insider member and are looking to take this class, please register through your Benefits Portal. Questions? Email membership@businessofhome.com.