saBringing transparency into our operations is not only part of our responsibility as a company, but also a necessity in order for us to find opportunities and develop new solutions for our industry.
As much remains to be done, and numerous solutions have not yet been found, we want to maintain a constant debate and a culture of transparency about our actions and needs, as well as the solutions we have come to. Transparency and speaking aloud are the only way forward in an area that is in many ways new and still transitioning.
AS A TEAM
We are just ordinary people balancing work, hobbies, family and friends. We get it, you know. There always seems to be too little time for everything, and we're all doing the best we can. We also sometimes choose the easiest route - and a car instead of cycling when it’s pouring rain. We’re not claiming to be flawless or being able to handle it all, either.
However, we are passionate about sustainability and the opportunity to make some things better. In general, the prevailing idea is that only changes on the big scale matter, but we disagree with that. It’s the little things. The change in attitude and awareness. The willingness to learn more, try new things and adapt. Not hiding our heads in the sand and waiting for someone else to come up with new solutions. We bike when we can, support local production and recycle our stuff. When it doesn’t seem enough, we think of new ways to reduce our carbon footprint and how they could be harnessed in our daily lives - as well as yours.
We want to promote sustainability and for us to be able to do so, we also need transparency in all our actions. Partly because sustainable development is only possible through cooperation, learning together and sharing. But also because we understand that we also are just figuring things out. Making a change for the better is not something that happens overnight. It is a process, which requires sharing knowledge and adoption of new information. It is inspiring where it is also demanding.
Read more about sustainability here.
AS A COMPANY
Our company consists of three people. We have an office space in Espoo, Finland 24,5 m² size. Since the beginning of covid, telecommuting has become more the norm than the exception, and we also work most of the week from our home offices.
Modern technology enables working together as a team no matter where we are, but especially getting closer to launch we're eager to get to explore the actual prototypes and share our excitement literally in the same space. As for now, our office will also serve as a storage space for the range of products. We want to get our hands on the various stages of production and be involved from the very beginning. Our hands-on approach gives us an idea of how the whole manufacturing process works, but, even more so, ways to reduce consumption and emissions during production wherever we can.
Read more about the use of materials here.
AS MANUFACTURING
Our manufacturing happens in Lithuania, EU and the top sheets are made in Finland. Having our manufacturing happen close-by was a key target we were not going to compromise. Thus we have a way to follow through with different production phases as well as minimize logistical emissions. Because everything to do with the production is what sustainable electronics is about, not just the product itself and its functions, however good they are.
We have compared dozens of different top sheet materials as well as different packaging options. We want MyNolla to feel supreme like the high quality product it is. Fortunately, there are several like-minded companies with whom we’ve created unique top sheets made from natural materials and molds prepared specifically for us. The choice of packaging was also not a snap-through, but the rotation of different designs, materials and diagrams from week to week until it was the way we wanted.
There are numerous options that would have been easier. And most of all faster. There have been two things all along that we have not been prepared to compromise on in the finished product: its safety and sustainability as an electrical device continues to be a top most priority.
WELCOMING NEW OPTIONS
The launch and bringing a new product to the market has been full of surprises, learning and information retrieval. As newcomers to the electrical products industry, we do have a new perspective on things. We have always adhered to our original goal of adhering to the principles of sustainable development, choosing local production and materials on the basis of their recyclability properties. We're aiming to be as sustainable as possible, but are still noticing in many areas that either there are no sustainable alternatives available, materials are out of stock or materials aren't good enough or don't meet the requirements necessary to create things safe and durable. Too often we run into "not available" or have to compromise in some way, which does make us feel like we do have more and better to give.
As one way to be transparent and support sustainability is by talking about it aloud, bring some awareness to the fact how challenging it is to find sustainable solutions to use in electrical devices, we want to bring these obstacles and challenges visible to all so that improvements can be made. Maybe it'll inspire other companies to also start demanding more sustainable solutions and will lead to researchers and manufacturers developing greener materials to use. Or right people see our cry for help and introduce us to solutions we hadn't heard of yet. We have a desire to use these solutions, but they do not exist yet, which we hope will change soon. And through learning, studying and collaboration, we wanna break these barriers one by one on the way towards the ultimate goal, MyNolla.
Read more about electrical design here.