Crown's sustainable paint packaging is the ethical interiors inspiration we’ve been waiting for

Iconic British paint manufacturer Crown Paints is looking towards a more sustainable future – and their elegant, earthy tones are dominating our dream interiors mood board

In partnership with Crown Paints

Here at Marie Claire, we’re always striving to find more conscious ways to consume. Which is why we launched our first-ever Sustainability Festival – a celebration of all things sustainable living, ethical fashion and eco-friendly beauty.

And while we’re increasingly conscious of more sustainable approaches to many aspects of our home lives – be that recycling, reducing food waste, or boycotting single-use plastics – when it comes to redecorating, sustainability can sometimes take a back seat.

Enter Crown Paints: the historic British paint manufacturer committed to long-term change and a more sustainable future. 

OK, so when colour swatching new shades for your bedroom walls the planet probably isn’t the first thing that springs to mind – or at least, it follows behind more immediate concerns like, will this match the furniture, is it a matt or gloss finish, does it make the space look bigger?

But Crown Paints have been quietly working towards a less wasteful and more planet-friendly future for the past twelve years through their earthbalance scheme – so sustainability is no longer a novelty when you’re shopping for paint. (I.e. less time spent worrying about the brand’s sustainable credentials, more time spent deciding what colour you’re opting for. Which, when you browse the chic, soothing tones of their easyclean® range, you’ll realise is easier said than done.)

In fact, it’s now been almost two years since Crown Paints became the first British paint manufacturer to launch containers that are made from 100% recycled post-consumer waste (PCW) plastic; which is miles ahead of the industry standard of 25%.

The brand’s innovative manufacturing process involves separating Polypropylene plastics – think shampoo bottles, yoghurt pots and plastic water bottles – from unusable plastic, subsequently saving thousands of tonnes of PCW plastic from ending up in landfill, and vastly reducing the consumer carbon footprint.

They’ve also reduced the amount of waste going to landfill, with 65% of waste being reused or recycled – including 39,000 litres of paint, which has been repurposed to benefit a number of change-making community projects. Additionally, since launching earthbalance over a decade ago, Crown Paints reduced their overall electricity consumption by 15%, reduced packaging waste by around 15%, and recycled more than 800 tonnes (yep, as in 800,000 kg) of paint cans.

Additionally, Crown Paints proudly holds the Royal Warrant as manufacturer of paint. And if it’s good enough for the walls of Buckingham Palace…

Seriously, though, their shade selection is the stuff of interior design dreams. Made up of 50 elegant, editorial-worthy hues, Crown’s Easyclean range – the brand’s toughest and most washable yet, which promises to withstand staining and scrubbing – gets top billing as far as we’re concerned.

From pared-back neutrals, to muted greens, blues, yellows and greys, it’s choc-full of the soft, soothing colours set to dominate SS21 interiors trends. And Crown Paints' sustainable outlook just bumps it further up our wish list.

Now, which colour to paint the hallway?