Furniture at Lima airport in Peru, made by Spain’s top designer-cum-manufacturer, Andreu World.

Andreu World, a Valencia-based manufacturer and a leading company in sustainable design, was recently recognized as the first in the Spanish furniture industry to certify its entire product catalogue under the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) standard for the circular economy.

Founded in 1955, Andreu World is a family-owned global brand known for creating high-quality, exceptionally comfortable, and sustainable seating and tables for hotels, restaurants, offices, homes and outdoor spaces.

In collaboration with internationally renowned designers, it combines timeless design and environmental commitment, using FSC-certified wood and sustainable materials such as Pure-Eco and Pure-Bio thermo-polymer. With four factories, and 33 showrooms worldwide, Andreu World is present in more than 90 countries.

All its furniture collections are audited and certified with the C2C seal. There are a total of 6,830 products, analysed in four main groups: wooden seating, wooden tables, technical seating and technical tables.

The C2C Institute, which conducts the C2C evaluation, has these sets of important requirements to be met:

• To design products that are healthy and safe for people and the environment, right from production to reuse.
• To eliminate the concept of waste with 100% restoration and upcycling.
• To operate with clean energy to generate a positive impact on the ecosystem balance.
• To maintain carbon levels in the soil.
• To safeguard water as a precious resource.
• To respect human and natural systems.
• Eliminate raw materials and components harmful to health.

Circular economy

The owners learned that not all wood bends in the same way: tropical wood is too open-pored, oak splits and mahogany shrivels. Beech, however, is compact and elastic. That is why they decided to look for a forest in Navarra to set up their first sawmill.

Using pressure, heat and high frequency, any solid wood part or component can be shaped. By cleverly taking advantage of the orientation of the tree’s natural fibre, maximum strength is guaranteed. Wood treated as plywood has allowed the company to evolve because it can also be bent without losing its qualities.

The differences between a shape generated by cutting and those generated by bending are determining factors in the quality of the product. In terms of resilience, since there are no joints that can open or crack against the grain; and aesthetically, because the continuity, whether of the mesh or of the grain enhances the expressiveness and beauty of the wood.

According to Jesús Llinares, CEO of Andreu World, by the year 2006, his company was probably the first company in the world auditing the supply chain from the forest to the chain of custody around the world with only FSC. It also started following the Ecodesign framework in 2013.

The Covid-19 pandemic offered the company a chance to adopt and practice the circular economy point of view. By the end of 2025, its catalogue was aligned with circular design principles. It considers the second life of the product, using systems to create more durable, timeless product, not just timeless designs.

Andreu World now uses more and more textiles that come from recycled processes, and all of the plastic that the company uses is 100% recyclable or bio-based. What is more, “We share everything so that we can promote sustainable thinking and challenge others to do the same, even our competition, Jesús adds.

The company has won major recognition, including the Red Dot and Spain’s National Design Award. It also supports emerging talent through its prestigious international design contest. https://www.andreuworld.com/