Nature Squared

Scenario

Carrelé, a collection of environmentally sustainable wall tiles handcrafted from eggshells. Elaine Yan Ling Ng, Chief Innovator of Nature Squared, comments on the reuse of eggshells,“Most people see them as waste, but I see an endless playground and an unlimited resource.” About 65.5 million tons of eggs are produced worldwide each year (Vandeginste, 2021). Global egg production is estimated to reach about 90 million tons by 2030 (Ferraz, 2018). Considering that eggshell accounts for about11 percent of an egg’s weight, it can be calculated that nearly 7.2 million tons of eggshell waste is produced each year (Feng, 2014). In comparison, this amount is about equal to the 8 million tons of plastic waste put into the oceans each year (WWF, 2021); today, an estimated 11 million tons of plastic waste end up in the oceans each year (Tremolada, 2023). “Carrelé,” is produced at Nature Squared’s factory in Cebu, Philippines, where 3,000 white eggshells from bakeries and kitchens are crushed, combined with a binding agent and then hardened at room temperature to create one square meter of tile. Because of the high calcium content, the shells are very strong, naturally UV-resistant and absorb natural colors (from natural dyes such as indigo, madder and chlorophyllin). The easy-to-clean tiles can be applied to walls, including wet areas in bathrooms and kitchens, and there are plans to extend the product to floors.

Description

Nature Squared is an ethical design brand founded in 2000 by Paul Hoeve and Lay Koon Tan with a mission to create truly innovative sustainable surfaces for architects, designers and consumers using abundant natural materials such as eggshell, seeds, bark and feathers. A leading design innovation company, Nature Squared combines traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology to capture the beauty of materials that are not endangered, protected or threatened.

Absolute commitment to the environment is a key element of Nature Squared’s ethos, which goes beyond recycling and upcycling and includes meticuloussourcing of materials, safe employment for all staff, and support for heritage and craft skills of master artisans and women in developing countries.

Environmental sustainability is sought to be implemented by going to use only abundant natural materials that are not endangered, protected or threatened; this is achieved through control of the entire production chain. Nature offers a wide variety of materials, and the goal is to enhance a by-product of an industry or activity that would otherwise be discarded as waste or by finding an abundant and fast-growing material: from leaves, seeds and bark; sea shells and eggshells; bones, fish skins and feathers. Nature Squared ensures that its employees are adequately compensated in terms of wages and benefits, going out of its way to promotegender equality and advocating against child labor.

In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 in the Philippines, many local communities were devastated and dispersed, which led to the loss of indigenous weaving skills in the Cebu region. Nature Squared pledged to employ a core group of weavers to ensure a living archive of their community’s skills heritage, which was in danger of being lost, while ensuring a source of income for the families concerned.

The present and future will of the company is summarized in the following points:

• Decision-making must be oriented toward stable profitability. Investment decisions are made in the long-term interest of all stakeholders: employees, customers, suppliers and owners;
• Diverting larger volumes of waste away from landfills and toward new methods of creating unique and innovative products at more affordable prices;
• Making a new material by experimenting with seashells , which, like eggs, are bioceramic and absorb CO2; the fishing industry produces seven million tons of them each year (waste to reuse);
• Apply designers’ creativity in the context of broader social and environmental awareness, rather than simply for beauty or functionality;
• Working for small community development with the purpose of ecosystem conservation and cultural enhancement.

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