Decorex 2023 and Sustainability

IMAGES Courtesy of Decorex


As Decorex South Africa approaches in June for Cape Town and August in Joburg, we take a look at how this leading art, decor and design expo celebrates the many ways in which creative homeware businesses are approaching sustainability.

After three decades, Decorex has become the most anticipated design, decor and lifestyle show in South Africa, offering a platform for businesses to interact and connect with the general public. The show encourages creatives to reimagine their effect on the environment and find innovative modes of production that better respect the planet. The year’s 30th-anniversary show will shine an even brighter spotlight on sustainability, with plans to create a prototype of a light-footprint exhibition stand and exhibit a medley of chairs made using low-impact methods. 

Creative professionals are increasingly being influenced by sustainability in their businesses, with key focus areas being recycled materials, and local production and sourcing to reduce their carbon footprint. Design companies are recognising their role in positively shaping people’s choices by educating them about conscious consumption. “This is us saying, as an industry, that we’re no longer going to let change happen to us,” says Bielle Bellingham, Creative Director of Decorex Africa. “We’re going to choose the change that we’d like to happen.”

Here are seven of the exhibitors who will bring their sustainable vision to Decorex 2023. 

No waste

Re-Create by Incanda is a range of design-driven products crafted from offcut materials that come from Incanda’s furniture-manufacturing factory. Leftover pieces of leather, fabric, wood and steel are developed into functional items such as tissue box covers, placemats, laptop stands and more, reducing the waste that would normally go to landfill.

Natural materials

LTT Fragrances was started by three friends who began experimenting with budget-friendly scents for the home. By creating hand-poured scented candles from pure soy wax, they discovered that nature is the greatest purveyor of materials. Using natural soybeans and only the finest fragrance oils, they manufacture candles that burn clearer, last longer and hold more fragrance than those containing chemicals. 

Hand crafted

A far cry from mass-produced surface coverings, Akashic Tiles’s modern and vintage-style ceramic tiles are individually crafted by hand in its Knysna studio. Whether glazed in colour or left as raw terracotta clay, each statement-making tile has the personal imprint of an artisan.  

Chemical-free

Staying abreast with the times, Plascon’s range of eco-conscious paints includes Africa’s first roof paints that are entirely free of APEO chemicals, Velvaglo water-based paints that reduce the negative impact on human and environmental well-being and paint with air-purifying technology. Look out for Plascon’s black buckets – they are made from up to 70% upcycled material.

Long lasting

Bloom Space has dedicated its business to the floral artform of ‘forever flowers’, aka preserved flora. Where fresh cuts require constant watering and sometimes only last a few days, dried blooms and foliage require no maintenance, offering a colourful sustainable alternative that includes everything from pampas to hydrangeas.

Locally sourced

“How we create matters” is one of Entrawood’s business slogans. That’s why the office-furniture company ensures that at least 90% of the raw materials used to produce its desks, chairs, storage, screen dividers and more come from South Africa, with everything manufactured locally at its factory in Harrismith. 

Environmentally conscious

Producing some of the world’s leading surface solutions, Spanish company Cosentino maintains a strong philosophy around sustainability. The Cosentino Industrial Park, where its factories are situated, has a water-recovery plant, uses solar energy and has developed a greenbelt around the property to protect the surrounding natural environment.

Decorex Cape Town, 22-25 June, CTICC Decorex Joburg, 3-6 August, Sandton Convention Centre Decorex Africa, along with its partner shows 100% Design Africa and Design Joburg, will host the first-ever Decor and Design Week in both CT and JHB in the week leading up to the shows.


For more information, ticket sales and media enquiries and downloads, visit Decorex, 100% Design Africa and Design Joburg.