From fashion to furniture, some of the biggest brands are taking advantage of the rental market trend; So why not art too?
"Britain has turned into a nation of renters without even realising it. We spend, on average, £60/year on subscription services, with 1 in 4 of us signed up to at least one, according to Finder.com."
The Times.
Renting office art is becoming a popular way for companies to decorate their interiors with beautiful and culturally significant pieces without the hefty price tag. You can have high-value art for a fraction of the cost without tying up substantial sums of money, but one of the most important benefits is the effect on our planet.
As our social conscience grows regarding climate change, companies have become acutely aware of their carbon footprint, waste management and environmental impact. Thankfully many corporations are striving to become more socially and environmentally responsible, and when it impacts their bottom line, they are more eager than ever to 'go green'.
With the advent of the throw-away culture, consumer purchases have a shorter lifespan than ever before. Art and office furniture are no exception.
Whether you're a company wanting to follow trends, create the 'right' image or understand the benefits of art on mental health, the necessity to frequently change your working environment comes at a price, and I don't just mean money.
Curating an art collection for the office used to be just for well-heeled companies that wanted the prestige of doing well and flaunting it; the rest of us, well, we had to make do with mass-produced prints that were pleasant but didn't reflect our brand personality.
We can have it all by renting office art without the costs to our pocket or the planet.
For those companies wanting to implement more sustainable and environmentally friendly business strategies, there are several big eco-benefits to renting office art, from reducing your carbon footprint to swerving landfills.
The Top 5 Environmentally Friendly Benefits of Renting Art.
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Gain access to high-quality art that can be reused, recycled and passed along for someone else to enjoy.
Rotating artwork in your workspace is a great way to keep your environment fresh and exciting, but if you're buying it outright, what happens to it when you're finished with it?
We have a duty to source better ways of reusing and recycling items that are still in good condition and can be passed along when not needed anymore.
For a fraction of the cost, renting office art has provided the opportunity to have a high-value work of art without having to tie up lots of funds, but it also means that art has a much longer lifespan and can be passed to the next office when you're finished.
- Decorate your workspace with collections that reflect your brand personality and your climate-conscious values.
Companies spend millions on branding every year, and every aspect of their messaging must reflect their values and vision, including any artwork in the office. Décor is another great opportunity to align your company values and convey your brand personality. Renting art is the ideal solution as you can rotate your chosen styles and designs based on your company brand marketing initiatives at any given time.
The benefits of renting art mean that you can support a broad range of artists from varying backgrounds and ethnicities, helping them become more established while reinforcing your message as a sustainable and climate-conscious organisation.
- Move away from disposable, mass-produced pieces which pollute the land, air and water.
Renting items for your home or business is a great way to be eco-friendly whilst still being able to follow trends as quickly as they come.
Instead of buying cheap, mass-produced prints and frames with potentially polluting manufacturing processes, we can reuse one-off pieces repeatedly by passing them on to other businesses.
Renting encourages us to make simple decisions and move away from a disposable, throw-away culture that reduces pollution and creates more sustainable future models.
- Reduce the amounts of waste going to landfill.
It's estimated that the UK are responsible for 27.5 million tonnes of commercial waste.
It's a huge number that cannot continue to grow.
Renting art, furniture, fashion or anything that helps minimise the waste produced when making new items or is no longer wanted, will significantly reduce the amount deposited in landfills.
Landfills harm the environment, including species' natural habitats, soil and air pollution, and the overall impact of decomposing waste.
We must learn to adapt and adopt new behaviours to source more effective ways of reusing and recycling items that can be repaired and passed along in good condition.
- Reduce your carbon footprint with locally sourced and supplied art.
Choosing an art-rental company local to your workplace can help to reduce your carbon footprint – another very important aspect of protecting our environment from climate change.
By choosing a reputable firm, many artists can be sourced in the UK or have travelled limited mileage, reducing your footprint and avoiding factory-made products.
According to the Ethical Consumer Markets Report 2019, ethical consumer spending and finance in the UK reached record levels of £98bn.
Thankfully companies are striving to become 'greener'. Whether they are small independents or large commercial companies, organisations are beginning to see the importance of investing in sustainable alternatives and the benefit it brings to their staff and customers
Becoming more sustainable can set you apart from your competition and can attract new clients and staff that align their values with being eco-friendly.
Brand personality is a huge consideration for organisations that want to connect with their customers, and being mindful of eco-based values is one of them.
Renting office art for the workplace delivers on all of these points: brand personality, eco-friendly and managing a sustainable bottom line.
GingerWhite is based in East London. Our art rental service for offices and businesses covers London and the Home Counties. This means you know where your artwork is coming from, and it has not been mass-produced overseas, creating a significantly larger footprint
Renting office art from us, you can be assured that no further damage is being done to the environment no matter how many times you rent, as you are essentially 'swapping' pieces with other companies and, therefore, no need to produce new items every year.
The artwork we supply has been commissioned largely from UK or local artists we love to promote and support. You can view some of their work through our blogs (https://www.gingerwhite.co.uk/blogs/news).
To find out more about renting art for your workplace, please contact us on 0207 359 3964 or email us at info@gingerwhite.co.uk.
Plus, you can follow us on Instagram @gingerwhite_art