Sustainable Design:
A Green Light, Right From the Start

From our first steps, LittleFootprint Lighting’s intent has been to create LED task lighting that is
as green as possible. We haven’t worked backward, by designing a lamp and then trying to
make it green.

We’re following in the footsteps of some important environmental and design leaders.
We’ve been inspired by the “cradle to cradle” principles developed, taught, and
written about by William McDonough and Michael Braungart – as well as the
Lifecycle Design Strategies (LiDS) Wheel concept, originally formulated by
Han Brezet.

On a broad scale, some of the key concepts that have guided us include:

  • Innovation: rethinking assumptions about every step of the product life cycle.
  • Design for a lifetime: building in quality and durability; designing for easy
    end-of-life disassembly, so all parts can be recycled or re-used and
    nothing enters the waste stream when the product is no longer of use
    to the consumer
  • Low impact: using recycled materials wherever possible, limiting our carbon footprint (for example, by sourcing our materials as close as possible to where we manufacture, maintaining a virtual office, and working to achieve carbon-neutral distribution), and using smart product design to create energy-efficient products
  • Smart manufacturing: minimizing waste, both of energy and materials, in our products and packaging

For our LED personal task lights, sustainable design means:

  • The base, stem, arm, and shade are all made from recycled plastic, and the base also contains recycled steel, all of which reduces landfill waste and supports the recycling industry and green jobs in the USA.
  • The LED bulb is replaceable. (Most LED lamps on the market have integrated LEDs, which can’t be easily replaced, rendering the lamps useless when the LEDs eventually burn out.)
  • Unlike compact fluorescent bulbs, our LED bulb does not contain mercury and is recyclable.
  • The LED desk lamp is designed to require as little packaging as possible, and our packaging is made from 100-percent post-consumer waste.
  • To support green jobs in the USA, we manufacture in California and ensure that nearly everything that goes into making our LED personal task lights – including the LED bulbs, the recycled plastic, the metal base, and the power supply – is made in the USA.
  • Because we manufacture in California, where we’re located and in one of our target markets, we keep the carbon footprint of shipping low.
  • The entire LED desk lamp can be disassembled, and the parts recycled, at the end of life.

Learn more about our product life cycle.