What is Align?
Align is a platform of Earth and people-centric initiatives that will guide our path forward. We believe it’s imperative to align the creation of beautifully designed products with actions and practices that help protect and nourish the planet.
3 Main Pillars
People, Product, Planet
These pillars translate into a focus on human well-being alongside design methods and manufacturing processes that conserve and restore the planet.
People
The “family” in 3form family of companies is more than a euphemism—it’s how we treat people.
But we don’t just want to protect people—we want them to thrive. That’s why we are working toward JUST certification—a nutrition label for socially fair organizations, earned in part by ensuring equitable, healthy, and transparent workplaces. It’s also why we developed the Full Circle program to support artisans and their communities worldwide. Meaningful social impacts include micro-savings infrastructures, midwifery education, and adult literacy.
We are committed to empowering our employees and our local communities, investing in fitness and wellness programs, an annual GreenWeek celebration, and monthly sustainability challenges and continuing education. We support our communities through donations to local nonprofits supporting affordable housing, community gardens and other meaningful causes.
Product
We believe we not only can, but should start by measuring and reporting our environmental impact.
17 years ago, we launched an industry-defining flagship product that contained recycled content. This year, we introduced a product with 75% recycled content from our scraps, seeking to close the loop. These are steps in our pursuit of zero waste manufacturing, which is one of several steps we’re taking towards creating net-positive products. Other steps include reducing our products’ embodied carbon and water usage, as well as an investment in our longstanding take back program, preventing materials from ending up in landfill.
We take ingredient health and transparency seriously, utilizing declare labels, applying greener chemistry in our supply chain and aggressively removing Red List chemicals from our products. We are a recognized pioneer in bringing transparency to the marketplace, beginning with our position as a pilot manufacturer in Google’s Healthy Materials initiative and continuing today with our longstanding Continuing Education (CEU) program.
Additional goals are accomplished by sourcing materials around the globe to incorporate socially responsible and hand-crafted artisan materials. We manufacture our flagship goods both in North American facilities and abroad under the guidance of our sustainability initiatives and with an emphasis on biophilic design.
Planet
We use life-cycle analysis to understand and publicly report the environmental impact of our products, as a first step to reducing those impacts.
Our climate responsibility measures start with efficient use of energy and materials, and are complemented by investing in renewable energy credits, verified emission reductions, and on-site solar generation. We seek to achieve zero-waste in manufacturing and to encourage a circular economy through the use of recycled, recaptured, and reimagined ingredients, as well as implementing take-back programs for our products.
Under the guidance of Align, we aim to create net-positive products that will leave our planet in better condition than when we started. In other words, we intend to design and manufacture products in ways that protect, nourish, conserve, and restore the planet–in ways that are scientifically quantified, and independently verified. These lofty and urgent goals are baked into our culture, because we see our products and influence as a means to a better world.
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Why
LightArt's parent company, 3form recognizes the power and responsibility of the architecture and design industry to embrace appropriate and urgent solutions for a stable climate, a healthy built environment, and a robust circular economy.
Align is our challenge to ourselves: Develop materials with intentionality and empower architects, designers, and consumers to make smart choices about how we buy and how we build.
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How
Building on years of sustainability leadership at 3from, LightArt's parent company, Align is the next step toward net-positive manufacturing. Our focus is to optimize current products and establish protocols for the products of the future—not only reducing our footprint, but contributing to the restoration of our planet and the betterment of human lives.
We are a founding member of the Living Product 50 (LP50)–a group of forward-thinking companies defining, adhering to and promoting the rigorous benchmarks of the ILFI’s Living Product Challenge (LPC). This comprehensive framework is the peak standard for developing products that are healthy, socially responsible, and give back to the environment.
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When
Products meeting the Align standard will be labeled with the Align stamp —an instant indicator of responsibly designed products carrying industry certifications such as Living Product Challenge, EPDs, Declare labels, and GreenGuard Gold. This allows architects and designers the opportunity to meet LEED v4.1, WELL and other green building challenge.
The Full Circle Foundation
The Full Circle Foundation is a 3form and LightArt global initiative that pursues social, environmental, and economic programs in Africa, Asia, and South America. In November of 2021 we travelled to Senegal in West Africa to experience firsthand the micro-saving programs in two villages near Ndem. The trip gave us the opportunity to check in with the participants one-on-on and sit in on a group meeting. The growth and development of micro-saving programs hang on the communities support and is vital to future successes.