What is it about the look of reclaimed materials that attracts us? Does wellness for the planet through the reuse of materials equal wellness for us? And how do we know what is true when sometimes looks deceive us?
 
Maybe not these exact questions, but the approaching new year usually ushers in a need to stop and take stock of who you are and what you may need or desire for the world in 2022. So these are questions I pose to you as a reuse enthusiast, reclamation buff or someone that is eco-conscious or at least curious.
 
Salvaged materials have always been celebrated for their connection with history, but they are increasingly recognised for the environmental value that reuse brings to projects. Salvo’s new Truly Reclaimed label is designed to provide assurance that a product or batch of material is genuinely reclaimed and therefore offers a genuine reduction in carbon emissions.
 
Many reclamation businesses offer some reproduction items, but they are distinguished for the customer to choose freely. Unfortunately, many new material manufacturers are not setting customers up for a free choice. Instead, marketing their new products as ‘reclaimed’ while publishing warnings about working with authentic reclaimed products to fight off the competition.
 
Beyond misleading customers with pretend eco-friendliness, the issue is the environmental cost, not simply of the new, but the additional cost of making the new look reclaimed, and without a strong and varied reuse market, there is also a danger that high-value materials may follow lower value routes like recycling or be disposed of.
 
We believe reclaimed is a brand worth protecting, so the Truly Reclaimed campaign will increase the visibility of genuine reclaimed products. You will also notice the QR code as the aim of the label is to verify authenticity, but also to connect people to the products they are buying, or experiencing in the places they visit that feature Truly Reclaimed materials. The information accessed through the unique QR codes can range from the material's past life to reclamation rescue stories to the embodied carbon that was saved through reuse.
 
Truly Reclaimed certification is an addition to the Salvo Code, a peer-reviewed community of businesses that meet high standards in responsible sourcing, and we are pleased to say that the label is currently in a soft launch with some Salvo members starting to use the label. These include B.C.A. Matériaux Anciens in France, who is also liaising on the French iteration of the label, Réemploi Attesté. Salvo member Mongers Architectural Salvage is also reaching out to hospitality spaces to carry the Truly Reclaimed label on pieces that they have supplied. So far items range from doors to urinals…
 
Our mission is to encourage more business for sustainable companies and to grow awareness of the vast amount of reclamation and reuse which is unrecorded and therefore goes unnoticed. So, a growing map of suppliers and eco-conscious design destinations that feature Truly Reclaimed materials will be the heart of the label.
 
It is true that not all reclamation stories will be extraordinary, sometimes stories are simple, but sometimes places have been blended, borrowed and reclaimed in extraordinary ways. Whether the label shares amazing stories or important carbon savings, these will have come together because people rescued, reused or repurposed to build a new narrative that is Truly Reclaimed.