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Giving sofas a new lease of life
1. Mr Lübke, what does sustainability mean to you?
For me, sustainability goes beyond environmental protection and also encompasses economic and social aspects. Ultimately, it is about using raw materials and energy as carefully as possible to preserve our natural resources and a general capacity for regeneration.
2. COR is now at the forefront of sustainability efforts in the German upholstered furniture industry. What changes have been essential to the progress made in recent years?
There have been various important changes. But first and foremost, sustainability is a matter of attitude, of values, and therefore also of company values. We have been embodying these since our founding in 1954. The first fundamental changes we made were carried out in the run-up to the launch of the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) in the 1990s. In 2008, we introduced a new supplier assessment system, which includes sustainability criteria. Another significant milestone came when our upholstered furniture earned the "Blue Angel" environmental label (held since 2017) and the Greenguard Gold certification. We first calculated the carbon footprint of our premises in 2020, and ever since then, our site has been carbon-neutral thanks to offsetting measures. So it is really a variety of distinct projects undertaken in recent years that have driven our progress.
Using residual materials to refurbish the returned furniture and avoiding empty runs further reduces the carbon footprint. Copyright: COR
3. Much of the adverse environmental impact stems from the extraction of raw materials and the pre-production phase of furniture manufacturing. What steps have you taken to make your operations more environmentally friendly in this regard?
We focus on eco-friendly design right from the product development phase. One important aspect is the use of high-quality materials that allow us to produce long-lasting products. This results in the required resources being consumed less frequently. We manufacture our furniture to order, meaning that we don't hold stock or produce any unnecessary items. We also focus on minimising waste and finding ways to repurpose it. For instance, we sell our fabric and leather offcuts to other companies, which then process them to make recycled products and leather accessories.
4. Fast furniture and excessive furniture consumption have serious environmental consequences. Your recently introduced CORever service is sending out a clear signal against this negative development. How would you sum up CORever for someone who has never heard of it?
CORever is a take-back programme for discarded COR furniture from both the private and contract sectors. We take back furniture that has reached the end of its useful life via our retail partners. We then repair, clean and resell it. By doing so, we take responsibility for the furniture we produce even beyond its initial life cycle and play an active role in reducing furniture waste while promoting the circular economy. The conscious use of existing resources fosters a sustainable lifestyle. And the programme offers a new demographic access to affordable, high-quality furniture made in Germany.
Once the pieces have been returned, the CORever team carefully inspects them to determine what needs to be repaired, replaced or refurbished before the recycled furniture can be resold. Copyright: COR
5. What services does CORever offer to customers?
We collect furniture from customers free of charge. If the furniture is beyond repair or unusable, we dispose of it, but only after breaking it down into its constituent materials. The customer is not charged for this either.
6. You take back all COR furniture for refurbishment and repair. The only exception is furniture from smoking households. Why?
Because the scent from smoking lingers in the furniture even after rigorous cleaning and refurbishment. It gets deep into both the foam and the wooden frame.
7. How have your customers responded to CORever?
Very positively – we sold a number of CORever products at the very first sale in June.
8. How many pieces of furniture have you given a new lease of life to since the project's inception?
To date, we have received around 60 customer orders relating to the return of COR furniture. Around a third has already been sold. The rest is still being refurbished and won't be made available for purchase until the next sales promotions.
Leo Lübke, managing partner of COR. Copyright: COR
9. I'll end by asking for a personal assessment. In the office furniture sector, refurbishing old swivel chairs and replacing worn parts are common services offered by many manufacturers. However, in the broader furniture market for private homes, CORever appears to be a pioneering project. Why don't more furniture manufacturers offer similar take-back schemes?
On the one hand, I believe it is easier for manufacturers of high-end, brand-name furniture to implement take-back schemes because they are not anonymous and can guarantee a longer service life. Accordingly, products can be refurbished even years later. On the other hand, perhaps there are more developments brewing than we think, many of which are probably still in the trial phase. That's why not all companies are openly sharing this information. But we think it’s important to exchange ideas with each other. With that in mind, we wouldn't be opposed to CORever serving as a blueprint for others.
