Sustainability

Water based formulas, waste reduction and infinitely recyclable tins (yes, really) are just the start. This is the online home of all our sustainability information, where you can find out what we’re doing – and what we’ve already done – to reduce our impact on the environment through our products, processes, and practices.


Our Paint

What’s behind our famously rich paint colours? It all starts with our trace-VOC emulsions, low-odour water base and responsibly sourced ingredients.

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Our Wallpaper

From the factory to the pasting table, here’s what makes our handcrafted wallpaper a considered choice.

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Minimising the Impact of Your Project

Here’s how we can help you minimise the impact of your Farrow & Ball decorating project on the environment: with tailored ordering advice, tips for keeping opened tins in top condition, and creative ideas for using every last drop of paint and roll of wallpaper in your stash.  

Reducing Waste

Before you order, check out our guides to calculating paint quantities and wallpaper quantities to help you buy exactly the amount you need.

Farrow & Ball wallpaper paste is formulated to minimise the waste from your project. Being sold in powder form means a longer shelf life and the ability to only mix what you need, while the concentrated formula means you can hang up to five rolls with a single recyclable tube. 

If you’d like to get some more tailored advice on ordering the right amount of paint for your project, our teams are on hand to help. Visit your local Farrow & Ball showroom, get in touch with our Customer Services team by phone, email or live chat, or get your questions to us on social media.  

Leftover Paint and Wallpaper

Found yourself with leftovers? Check out our blog, The Chromologist, for ideas on how to put them to good use, while adding a little extra flair to your home — we recommend these quick weekend projects for starters. 

If you only have a little paint spare and want to keep it handy for touch-ups, save some space by decanting into a clean, sealable container (a jam jar is ideal), then recycle your tin. Or if you’re keeping the paint in its tin, make sure the lid is on tightly. Top tip: turn the closed container upside down for a few seconds so paint covers the inside of the lid creating an airtight seal, which helps stop a skin forming on the paint surface so it’s easier to use when you come back to it. Then store upright in a cool, well-ventilated area, away from changing temperatures and frost. 

If you can’t find a use for your leftovers, give them to someone who can! Offer them to friends, family, neighbours or check if there are any paint re-use schemes in your area. If you don’t find a new home for your paint, you may be able to recycle it at a local recycling centre. For up-to-date information on the options in your area, check RecycleNow.

Recycled and Recyclable Packaging

OUR TINS 

Including recycled materials in the manufacture of our iconic paint tins already saves product from landfill, but we’re going one better – by using metal packaging, we’re ensuring that our tins can be infinitely recycled.  

Due to the processes involved in manufacture, it’s not possible to accurately state exact quantity of recycled metal used to create our tins. However, metal recycling is so well established that 84% of steel packaging is recycled across Europe and 77% in the UK, making it the most recycled type of packaging available.

It’s estimated that 80% of all metal ever produced is still in use and the average recycled content in metal packaging across Europe is 58%.   

By promoting the recyclability of our tins – which proudly show the Metal Recycles Forever™ logo – we hope to get more customers recycling and get even more metal back in the recycling loop. 

Most recycling centres in the UK accept unwanted paint cans. However, it’s very important to check with your local council and household waste recycling centre for local requirements and availability.

OUR BOXES 

The cardboard packaging your tins arrive in, and all the other cardboard packaging we use, is recyclable* and made with 75% recycled material. Cardboard is widely recycled in household collection schemes and at recycling points throughout the UK – visit recyclenow.com for more information or contact your local household waste recycling centre.  

OUR BAGS 

The bags we use in-store are fully recyclable – that includes the handle as well as the bag itself. Cardboard is widely recycled in household collection schemes and at recycling points throughout the UK – visit recyclenow.com for more information or contact your local household waste recycling centre.  

OUR WALLPAPER  

As our wallpaper doesn’t contain any vinyl, you may be able to recycle it in your area. Check with your local household waste recycling centre for their policy on accepting wallpaper for recycling.  

Our Business

Our dedication to the environment doesn’t begin and end with the products we make – it’s also in the way we do business. Here are the steps we’ve taken so far to reduce the environmental impact of our day-to-day operations:

- Running our manufacturing site and UK showrooms on guaranteed green renewable energy. 

- Recycling 100% of the dry waste from our Dorset factory.

- Recycling 100% of our liquid waste, including at our own on-site water treatment facility.

- Working with FSC® certified printers, who use FSC® certified paper, to produce our printed pieces, from colour cards and brochures to postcards and letters.

- Complying with the Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) across all our UK sites and being audited by the Environmental Agency to ensure our compliance.


Recognition

We were named Overall Best Performer in the British Coatings Federation’s Coatings Care awards in 2022. Plus, this followed on from recognition in several previous years, including Best Improver in 2015, Overall Winner in 2016, and finalists in 2017, 2018 and 2021. These awards are judged on a range of key performance indicators including energy consumption, waste and recycling, and VOC emissions.

 

Our commitment to environmentally responsible practices has also been recognised by Certification ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems Standard (Certificate number 25345/F/0001/UK/En), which recognises our enhanced performance, continued compliance, and achievement of ongoing environmental objectives. We’re proud to have been certified every year since 2005, and annual certification is one of our continuous improvement policies.

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