Sustainability Award

Formex sustainability award

Sustainability is a very important topic that deeply engages many of our exhibitors. We want Formex to be a platform to share and learn from the best examples in the industry, and have been raising issues around the topic for several years. Being recognized for your efforts is important to encourage you to take further steps. We are often asked about what activities or areas we have where sustainability issues are raised and are therefore very pleased to receive this award.

The Formex Sustainability Award is a competition where exhibiting companies or designers compete to win the award for the most sustainably designed product. The nominated entries are promoted through our channels, including press and PR, and in an exhibition during the upcoming fair. The winner of the competition will receive a glass statuette in a unique design and 10 square meters of free space with entry fee at the next Formex.

How does it work?

Exhibitors at Formex during the last implementation period submit an application themselves. We welcome all initiatives, big and small, old and new. The jury will review all applications and announce the nominees in late fall. The winner will be announced at Formex in January next year.

The next Formex Sustainability Award will be presented at Formex on January 17-19, 2025.

Jury Formex Sustainability Award

Maria Soxbo

Journalist passionate about sustainability, and Chair of the Formex Sustainability Award.

Maria Lagerman

Circularity and sustainability consultant.

Emma Olbers

Designer focusing on sustainability in furniture design and interior architecture.

Daniel Svahn

Interior designer SIR/MSA, MFA.

Malin Jensen

Interior designer with a strong focus on sustainability.

Win a unique statuette and a place on the trade show floor in August

The statuette is hand-blown by Glasbolaget in Bro, a glassworks north of Stockholm founded in 2016 by Ammy Olofsson and Erika Kristofersson Bredberg and named Shape Bearer of the Year by Svensk Form Stockholm 2022. Glashyttan uses the residual gas produced at Ragn-Sell’s nearby Högbytorp landfill site. The glass furnace also melts recycled screen, supplied mainly from the Reijmyre glassworks.

In addition to the award, the winner will receive a unique glass statuette designed by Marie-Louise Hellgren, a pioneer in circularity and upcycling with over 30 years of experience in the industry, as well as 10 square meters of free space including an entry fee at the next Formex.

Application form

The application for the Sustainability Award is now closed. The application will open again in 2025.

Previous winners

2024

Swedish Lursta Cast Iron is the winner of the Formex Sustainability Award 2024. The company won the award for its well-designed, locally embossed and long-lasting pancake batter made from recycled scrap metal.

Read the interview with Lursta here

2023

Remoair won the Formex Sustainability Award 2023 for its innovative and resource-efficient scented candle refill. Part of the jury’s justification was “A nice way to encourage reuse and create an atmosphere in our homes.”

Read the pressrelease here

Nominees 2025

Ljusbåge – GAZ.T Wood & Art

A timeless arc in small-scale production – 20 per year. The arch is made from salvaged pieces of birch plywood from a small factory in Ödeshög, while the horses are made from unsaleable pieces of birch trees felled by an arborist in the Gothenburg area. The shape of the horses is created by CNC milling and the details are carved by hand while the waste becomes jewelry. The arc is treated with wax and if any part breaks it can be replaced. It is made using renewable electricity – mainly solar energy. The fact that the arc is inspired by the founder’s grandfather’s handmade candlestick is a nice bonus!

Träsko Fårö – Hol Studio/Träskofabriken

Unsaleable sheepskin furs from Stockholm City Mission and discarded bicycle and motocross tires are the recycled basis for Hol Studio’s clog Fårö. A solid craft made on bottoms of hand-picked wood from the own forest and reinforcement of waste pieces and third sorting of vegetable tanned split suede from Tärnsjö Garveri’s furniture industry. The small-scale production in Holgården in Siljansnäs always gives priority to reuse, and customers always have the opportunity to repair their shoes for the longest possible life.

Beeswax Bento bread bag - oWaster

A chemical-free bread bag made from recycled cotton sheets impregnated with beeswax from local, organic beekeepers and dyed with onion peel. It’s made by hand in Järna, where every step is based on local, organic and fossil-free resources. The natural antibacterial properties of the beeswax keep the bread fresh for longer, and the surface layer can be refreshed over time. The bag is a sustainable alternative to disposable plastic bags, and contributes to waste reduction by utilizing discarded textiles. All components – including the organic cotton sewing thread – are compostable at the end of the bag’s life.

Hushållstvål Skina – Tvåla & Tvaga

Made from saponified organic oils, Soap & Wash works for washing dishes, laundry and cleaning, without disturbing natural aquatic environments when discharged into the sewer. In addition to its multifunctionality, it saves resources by replacing liquid products and eliminating the need for plastic bottles. The solid form of the soap also means that no water is carried around unnecessarily, and the recycled paper packaging can be sorted and recycled again. The soap is made by hand in the company’s own soap factory in Gothenburg.

Ljus av återbrukat stearin – Time to Candle

Molded candles made of 100% recycled stearin in the form of candle stubs collected from restaurants, where the wick is also reused where possible. A small-scale craft where the collection takes place once a month by electric car, and where candle stumps of wax other than stearin are cleaned out and donated to daily activities that make lighter briquettes from it – rings on the water. A well thought-out idea from start to finish, inspired by the founder’s grandmother and grandfather, who both reused candle butts from the church to create new candles, with the aim of showing that “there is still life in a previously extinguished flame”.

Växtvattnare – Plantstraws

Nature’s own capillary power is combined with modern design and practicality in this stylish self-watering planter. Like the roots of the plant, Plantstraws sucks up water from a container with a string of recycled cotton that runs through the metal tube and into the soil. The small-scale production takes place in Småland and the metal tubes are a mix of pre-consumer waste (manufacturing scrap), post-consumer waste (recycled metal) and a small amount of primary aluminum. Form, function and sensible production in elegant interplay.