Catch Of The Day: Video Brings Stunning, Sustainable Carpet To Life

Interface has launched a new carpet tile range that incorporates stunning style, sustainable manufacturing and social responsibility. Called Net Effect, the innovation was launched recently at London Zoo with Birmingham-based video production company Be Inspired Films on hand to capture the reactions of guests.

The Net Effect collection for commercial environments is evocative of natural, organic forms, with designs flowing through rooms like water rippling onto the shore. Inspired by the ocean’s life-giving power and its plight, the launch of the Net Effect collection is a poignant reminder that beautiful design goes beyond just product.

Net-Works is an innovative global business and conservation partnership between Interface, the Zoological Society of London, and yarn manufacturer Aquafil, which has established a community-based supply chain for collecting discarded fishing nets for recycling back into nylon to be used in the manufacture of carpet tiles.

Focusing on rural coastal areas within the Danajon Bank, one of only six double-barrier reefs in the world, the project has seen nearly 20 tonnes of nets – enough to stretch from London to Chicago if laid end to end – collected and recycled.

In addition, a year on from the pilot, Net-Works has grown from 11 to 26 villages, improving access to financial services for 892 households and creating four jobs as organisers of ‘loan clubs’.

Through the medium of video, Interface is able to reveal the new collection and tell the story behind it, showing the real people benefitting from Net-Works in the Philippines and how their work helps the local environment. The film also includes the hugely positive feedback of designers, architects and ocean sustainability experts at the launch event at London Zoo.

Be Inspired Films was chosen to make a video of the Net Effect launch event after Jon Khoo, Co-Innovation Associate at Interface, attended a Be Inspired Films mini-workshop in 2012. The event was a taster of the company’s full-day workshops, developed to teach staff of SMEs, charities and social enterprises how to make short web-based films on a budget.

“There’s a certain honesty about helping people create their own videos, while also offering to step in for the big ticket items,” says Khoo. “As part of the workshop, Be Inspired showed their showreel, which contained a great range of organisations from large corporates, to small charities. I liked the style and enthusiasm that they had.

“Also, their work on telling the story of socially and environmentally responsible projects fitted well with the need to get the Net Effect and Net-Works story out there. I knew they’d deliver in terms of creating an engaging and captivating film that captured the event with the right tone.”

Ravinol Chambers, Founder of Be Inspired Films, comments: “Interviewing interior designers, architects, buyers and others from the industry for the film we shot at the launch event in London Zoo was a real eye-opener and very enlivening. We found that everyone was clearly impressed with the quality of the product but also genuinely excited and enthusiastic about the sustainability story behind it.

“We are incredibly inspired by this kind of project and are looking forward to working with more big brands that are cleverly bringing positive social impact into the supply chain of their businesses and creating sustainable business models that benefit everyone involved.”

In addition to providing affordable video training to SMEs and charities, and producing video and animation for social purpose organisations and CSR projects, Be Inspired Films offers a live streaming service to transmit events live over the internet, reaching a global audience.