Sustainability

We consider it our responsibility at Le Klint to inspire and assist in making responsible choices. When it comes to sustainability, we do not simply focus on a single product or material. We consider the whole and seek to act as responsibly as possible throughout the supply chain. But we also consider the lifetime after a lamp has been sold, because we want our lamps to last as long as possible, so they can be used for many years, be passed on to subsequent generations, and be repaired as necessary.

Sustainable design

We make don't try to follow the short-term fads of the time, but instead we aim to follow trends that are both timeless in function, material, colour and form. People often tell us that our lamps from the 40s, 50s and 60s still look modern. This means that a Le Klint lamp can
easily hang in a home for many decades, and the lamp be passed on to the next generation, who will still consider it beautiful due to its classic and timeless design.

Made in Odense

We are proud to have kept our production in Odense, the place where the company was founded in 1943. The folding work is something quite special, and we have chosen to preserve the folding of lampshades as a craft. It takes roughly one year to learn the technique and two or three years to master all the models in our product range. We stand by our decision that Le Klint is a "Made in Odense"company, and that we will continue to be so.

Quality and materials

In addition to considering the aesthetics when producing our designs, it is also important to us that the design be manufactured at a sufficiently high quality for it to last for many years. Should it be necessary, the majority of our lamps can be serviced and repaired so that it can be enjoyed for generations to come. We believe that a long lamp lifetime is an important part of the concept of sustainability.

We only use good, solid and honest materials, ideally sourced from local suppliers to reduce the amount of transporting needed and also keeping the lights on for local producers. We enter into long-term relationships with our subcontractors that are based on a mutual respect for quality and social responsibility. We expect our collaborative partners to follow all applicable working guidelines and to handle materials responsibly.

Wood:

We utilise wooden components for several of our lamps, which are supplied by Danish partners, primarily on Funen and in Jutland. Wood may have different colours and structures, as trees have different growth periods. The grains and colours are the result of the tree’s surroundings, the environment, the point in time when tree was felled and from which part of the trunk the wood is taken from. We seek to utilise resources as best possible, and we do our best to use all wood pieces, as differences in colour and grain only serve to provide a beautiful reference to the nature we source our wood from.

Glass:

Our glass is sourced from European glassworks that use hand blown glass. Hand blowing gives the glass a unique living structure, which may include "waves" and small air bubbles in the glass. We obviously work to a very high standard of quality, but we regard these small details in the glass as the glassblower's personal touch and thus a part of the craftsmanship. Since the glass is clean, it can be recirculated, meaning that it can eventually be included with recycled glass.

Metal:

We use many different types of metal, depending on which metal is the most appropriate for the task at hand. Most of the metal components are produced by our Danish suppliers, with set requirements regarding the production conditions and the materials used. In order to protect the metal surfaces, visible brass and aluminium parts are coated. This also means that customers don't have to polish or clean the brass parts of a Le Klint lamp. Other surface treatment such as painting is performed by Danish supplies that observe the DK/EU environmental standards.

Foil:

The material for our standard lampshades is made in Europe from a special lampshade foil (hard PVC). This foil material has some important properties. It is fire-retardant and has an antistatic surface to prevent it from gathering dust, it is UV resistant to reduce fading, and the foil has a good light transmission. Since no other materials are used in its production, the foil can be recycled. We encourage people that might have lamp shades that have passed their prime to hand them in to their local recycling facility.

Paper:

We produce our lampshades out of a very high quality paper. Most of the lampshades are made of white paper and, to a lesser degree, coloured paper, all depending on the lamp series. The coloured paper is solidly coloured to ensure a long lifetime and as little fading as possible. Sunlight will however always change the colour of the paper, regardless of
whether it is coloured or white paper. If a paper lampshade is exposed to a lot of direct sunlight, this process will accelerate. The paper is made in Germany by a supplier that produces paper in accordance with stringent standards with regard to the means of production and paper quality.