STILLING SUSTAIN™ LABEL
SUSTAIN™ IS OUR OWN LABEL FOR STILLING® PRODUCTS THAT COMPLY WITH OUR STRICTEST REQUIREMENTS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PRODUCT LIFECYCLE.
Our overriding goal is to offer the ultimate in product functionality with as little negative impact on the world as possible.
It goes without saying that all our products are subject to strict criteria for quality and environmental footprint, but we are constantly searching for new technologies and methods to ensure that we continuously minimize our footprint. To reflect this effort, we have created a label for those of our products that meet our highest criteria.
We call this label SUSTAIN™.
WHY CHOOSE SUSTAIN™ LABELED PRODUCTS?
When you choose a Stilling® product that carries our SUSTAIN™ label, you are guaranteed that the product has been produced with the best conditions for the environment we can offer. Before a product receives our SUSTAIN™ label, it must meet strict requirements regarding the degree of recycled content, production methods, durability and transportation.
We have formulated these requirements into 4 criteria that all our SUSTAIN™ labeled products are assessed against.
Recycled Stilling® curtain tracks
AP 0520 curtain track made from min. 75% recycled aluminium
To achieve the SUSTAIN™ label, the product must meet all of the criteria below, ensuring responsibility throughout all life stages of the product from production to disposal.
Must be produced by min. 50% recycled materials
Using recycled materials is the most direct route to reducing our consumption of materials from the original source, while enabling circularity in materials.
The trade association, ‘Plastindustrien’ (Danish Plastics Federation), estimates that we save the environment between 2.1 and 2.6 kg of CO2 for every kg of plastic we recycle and use in the production of new products.
Aluminium is also one of the most recyclable materials on the planet.
Must be at least as durable as the same product in conventional material
A product is not environmentally friendly if it is made from recycled material, but has a lower functionality and shorter lifespan.
The recycled nylon used for our SUSTAIN™ accessories comes from a post-industrial source and has been tested by the Danish Technological Institute.
Artificial aging with UV exposure has confirmed that the durability of the recycled nylon accessories is as good as the conventional plastic accessories.
Must consist of materials that can be recycled and disassembled
A SUSTAIN™ labeled product should be easy to disassemble and recycle. We have therefore decided to only award the label to products that do not contain mixed materials that prevent recycling.
Must be produced and transported with minimized or otherwise improved energy consumption
The energy used for production and transportation often make up a high proportion of the total environmental footprint.
SUSTAIN™ labeled products must therefore be produced with minimized or otherwise improved energy consumption, for example by source reduction, switching to renewable energy or local production.
By producing more locally, we minimize the need for transportation.
As of January 2024, we moved the production of all our aluminium profiles from Asia to Europe.
OUR SUSTAIN™ LABELED PROFILES
MADE FROM RECYCLED ALUMINIUM
For our SUSTAIN™ tracks, we work with three carefully selected aluminium compositions, each offering the flexibility and robustness required to fit the individual product. Strong enough to ensure good functionality and fewer fittings, but flexible enough to be designed for curved and bent curtain installations.
75% – 100% RECYCLED ALUMINIUM
Across our assortment of SUSTAIN™-labelled curtain tracks and profiles, we use either a composition from a minimum of 75% recycled post-consumer aluminium, a composition with 80% recycled aluminium, or a composition from 100% recycled aluminium, where a minimum of 60% comes from postconsumer sources.
This means that all our SUSTAIN™ tracks have started as a different product, such as an aluminium can or consumer electronics.
All Stilling® curtain tracks are manufactured in Europe.
OUR FIRST COMPLETE SUSTAIN™ CURTAIN TRACK
AP 2005 IS THE FIRST OF OUR CURTAIN TRACKS TO HAVE ALL COMPONENTS MADE FROM FULLY OR PARTIALLY RECYCLED MATERIALS. THE CURTAIN TRACK IS MADE FROM 75% RECYCLED ALUMINIUM, WHILE THE BRACKETS, END CAP AND GLIDERS ARE MADE FROM 100% RECYCLED NYLON.
73% LESS CO2 EMISSIONS THAN AVERAGE ALUMINIUM
As the aluminium is both produced with renewable energy and consists of recycled material, these compounds have a significantly lower carbon footprint of 2.3 – 2.56 kg per kg of aluminium extruded – which in perspective is up to 73% less than the average primary aluminium consumed in Europe.
Sources: IAI, EAA, Norsk Hydro
PRE-CONSUMER OR POST-CONSUMER?
By using recycled post-consumer materials in our aluminium profiles, we utilize materials that have already been used in other consumer products. This reduces our dependence on primary aluminium. The recycled pre-consumer materials, such as from industrial scrap, add strength and durability to the composition.
DOWNLOAD OUR
SUSTAIN™ HANDBOOK
Are you interested in using our SUSTAIN™ curtain tracks in your project? We have created a handbook that contains all information about our SUSTAIN™ label, as well as an overview of all the products that have received the label so far.
In addition, on our product pages you can find data sheets for all our tracks as well as detailed information about the material composition and origin of each profile.
If you are curious about where in the world we are sourcing our materials, check out our interactive supply chain map on the “Our responsibility” page.