Frequently asked questions

Sustainability

Our Commitment to Sustainability

Sustainability has been a key part of Tigermoth’s DNA since we started out in 2009.  The decision to make every single light in our workshop in the south of England (where they are also designed) is a fundamental principle of the business and is something that our founder Harriet Daniels is still passionate about more than a decade later.  On a daily basis, our sustainability ethos has many different facets:

The people who make our lights –

“Made in England” means different things to different people.  In addition to giving us superb control over the quality of our products, making in England means that we know that the people who make our lights are well paid, adults, and working in safe conditions.  Our workshop is at the heart of our business and we all work very closely across two premises within walking distance in the village of Pangbourne in West Berkshire.

Almost all of our suppliers are also British and we carry out an on-site audit at all of our suppliers’ premises prior to starting work with them and at regular intervals thereafter.  This audit includes a review of employees and working conditions.  Very few lighting companies make in this way with many “Made in England” sometimes referring to assembly of many subcomponents that are made in factories overseas that do not offer the same working conditions or pay to their workers.  Working with British suppliers also reduces the number of miles the sub-components will have travelled during production.

Designing lights that are intended to last-

Our lights are designed to endure for many years and be treasured by whomever owns them. We offer a repair service and often help make adjustments for clients if needed, e.g. if they move home.  Our lights are intended to bring joy for our clients over many years and hundreds of them get in touch every year to feed back to us that they have done just that!

Designing lights that are able to be recycled at the end of their life –

The main materials of our lights are recyclable – they are made mainly from metal, glass and stone.  Plastic is a material that we strive to minimise in our designs and it only exists in our products where absolutely necessary, e.g. electrical components.  The electrical components are covered under the government WEEE recycling scheme, of which we are a member.

Making use of imperfect or ex-display lights – 

Any lights that do not meet our stringent quality standards and which cannot be reworked are put to one side and made available to the public to purchase at discounted prices twice a year.

Non-polluting production methods –

We recycle as much waste as possible which is created as a by-product of production, e.g. any scrap metal is recycled.  We audit our suppliers and their suppliers to ensure that they are using non-polluting production methods and complying with all EU regulations regarding pollution and waste disposal.  Lights or lighting components which are manufactured outside the EU are often not subject to these stringent regulations on polluting production methods.

Investment in sustainable packaging materials –

Wherever possible, we aim to reduce packaging materials and also use recyclable materials.  For internal shipments between suppliers, we have designed and made re-useable packaging for each product item to ensure that wastage is minimised.

Investment in product safety –

A product that is safe to use is key to sustainability and we invest heavily in this – we have a stringent quality control process and hold a UL Lighting Industry Association Quality Assured status.  Our products undergo lab testing and certification and we carry this out for UK and international standards.