Choosing sustainable and stylish concrete decor
What’s eco-friendly about the modern concrete
These days, no one wants to sacrifice sustainability for beauty, but not everything is equally sustainable. We chatted with eir’s Head of Marketing and Operations Anika Nayar about how to really understand what makes a difference.
First, what is GFRC?
It’s glass fibre recycled concrete – basically it means we’re using existing concrete and remaking it. This means there is less waste, plus it helps lighten the weight that comes from using sand.
How is eir more sustainable?
The difference with eir is that we use more recycled material in our mix. So that’s less new material that needs to be used, and less old material out there.
Our customers also benefit as the formula our innovation team has worked to create makes our concrete products lighter. So our wall cladding is extremely lightweight and will adhere to any wall.
Is it really concrete
Absolutely. With some GFRC, you can see a bit of a difference – but our team truly loves the organic beauty. So they’ve engineered the innovations to replicate the look of the full, less sustainable kind of concrete. Experts can’t tell the difference looking at our wall tiles.
Why is eir different?
It’s the deep passion we have for innovation, as well as design. When our innovation team started, they looked at what was out there. The molds for what they wanted to create with concrete didn’t exist, so they developed a new way to do it, finding a source from the industrial world. “You can’t do that,” the company told them. But the team went ahead and proved them wrong.
Where else do we see this?
Take our fire tables – concrete can be one of the most forgiving materials with its organic, natural good looks, but because it’s porous it can stain. So either you coat it, which some companies do and that’s why your $10,000 fire table will start to peel. Or you don’t coat it and while you can sand it lightly, that stain won’t go away.
Our R&D team developed a proprietary protectant that’s non-toxic and it’s actually mixed into the concrete. So it goes deeper than just the surface, and you can sand it if, god forbid, a small chip appears or there’s a light stain from say a leaf that you accidentally let sit there for days (we know that will never happen and you’ll use it every night!). And you won’t lose the stain resistance.
Now, don’t go pouring red wine – there’s nothing that can be done other than appreciating it as a badge of good times.
But for other normal, less tannic soils, you’re good to go!