In recent years, pop-up shops have become increasingly popular in the retail landscape, offering brands a unique opportunity to connect with consumers in a temporary physical space. 

However, as sustainability becomes increasingly valued by consumers (rightly so), it's essential for businesses to ensure that their pop-up ventures align with environmentally conscious practices - or risk being subject to criticism, or damaged consumer confidence. 

At Morally Made, we approach each brief with our guiding Morally Made Manifesto to ensure a project is delivered more sustainably, than not. 

We also have first hand experience delivering a sustainable pop up shop for Beavertown Brewery, and our learnings are captured in this helpful guide. 

STEP 1; ACCEPT YOU WILL NEVER DELIVER A SUSTAINABLE POP UP SHOP

Delivering a 100% sustainable pop up shop is something that exists in a dream land, however, by the end of this guide you will have made positive strides in reducing your brands impact and should be feeling better prepared to make better choices.

STEP 2: UNDERSTANDING SUSTAINABILITY & POP UP SHOPS

Before diving into the specifics, let's clarify what we mean by a sustainable pop-up shop. 

Essentially, it's about minimising the environmental and social impact of your temporary retail space, while maximising positive outcomes and retaining value in every decision you make.

Naturally, you will want bespoke features that showcase the uniqueness of your brand to ensure you are creating something memorable and worth visiting. These one off unique installations are high risk for avoidable waste and therefore negative environmental impact is likely to occur unless approached with the correct attitude and knowledge. 

Sustainability takes intention, that means careful planning and thought before jumping into action. Do you have a considered plan for each decision that you know could result in unnecessary waste or carry a large carbon footprint? Typically timeframes are tight for pop up shops, it’s tempting to rush into building, but considering clever design, before touching materials, can save a lot of unnecessary material and energy usage. 

The impact of your pop up shop and its sustainable story is decided within the design and planning phase. “It is estimated that over 80% of all product-related environmental impacts are determined during the design phase of a product” - European commission. We can apply this thinking to pop up shops. 

At the beginning of a project, there is a tendency to seek the solutions that are the quickest and easiest to achieve. However, quick usually means dirty more often than not. 

Some examples strategies here are;

• Designing to amend / adapt existing assets 

• Working within standard material sizes 

• Taking advantage of materials natural finish & appearance 

• Designing for accurate waste disposal 

Our first hand experience with Beavertown saw us develop a concept digitally, depicting the brands intentions before we independently reviewed and highlighted the potential waste areas and proposed more considered solutions. A notable step change was the significant reduction in use of PVC vinyl graphics, and proposing alternative designs that promoted re-use for future pop ups (Of which we are already planning!).

STEP 3; SUPPLIER SELECTION & CULTIVATING RELATIONSHIPS

Sustainability is a collective effort, you will need suppliers that will go the extra mile to support your sustainability goals and understand why each element of the Morally Made Manifesto is important. If they don’t care about sustainability, they’ll cut corners you set out not to in the design phase. Find partners you can trust to do the right thing.

Where, and how often are you launching your pop ups? Do you intend to launch a pop up numerous times a year, or on an annual basis? Will your furniture need to regularly travel to different cities? Maybe you don’t know yet, so perhaps you’d like to keep your options open?

To ensure you are investing in quality, well made features, that can be used time and time again, further decisions and consideration on circularity and life cycle also need to be considered. 

The tenure of your sustainably led pop-up shop is also a key factor, as you must specify the correct material to ensure durability and reduce the need to replace in the event of damage or wear and tear - creating unnecessary waste. 

This is where justifying the use of more hardwearing, yet less sustainable options should be considered. I.e engineered cardboard is suitable for a couple of weeks, but unlikely to withstand the wear of a 6 month tenure. 

Seek advice from trusted suppliers who are regularly researching the life cycle of materials for the most appropriate solutions. Morally Made offers a free materials consultation upon enquiry.

For maximum impact, filling the space you have available is key but again high risk for avoidable waste, a simple solution for this is to always consider hiring where possible before producing anything new. There are some great options out there, such as Found Pop - Based in London.

Utilising hired furniture allows you to focus your budget on creating impact using tactile, unique and sustainable materials in other areas of your pop up or any bespoke assets, some of our favorite materials at the moment are; Smile Plastics, Valchromat, Autex, Ecoboard & Polycril.

Avoid designing anything too unique to the space, to offer future flexibility.

Do not specify ‘Flat Pack furniture’ - flat pack furniture from large retail outlets or cheap online sources are not built for the wear and tear of a commercial space - disappointingly they typically find their way to the bin quickly. This is especially true if you plan to activate numerous pop ups. They do not travel well. 

When designing bespoke features or furniture, ensure you consider the life cycle, and embody circular design principles with repairability and refurbishment high on the specification. At Morally Made we practice the below techniques wherever possible. 

• Consider end-of-life

• Design for durability

• Incorporate modular design

• Design for disassembly

• Emphasise repairability

• Use non-toxic materials

• Design for adaptability /multi use

• Design for ease of transportation

• Design for minimal waste

When considering artwork and graphics for your pop-up shop, several factors such as the quantity, location, durability, and length of use should influence your choice of medium.

For large surface areas, it is advisable to opt for engineered cardboard instead of vinyl graphics. This choice not only provides a more prominent look and feel by protruding from walls but also showcases your commitment to sustainability. 

While the recycling of vinyl graphics is improving, it is still unlikely that any applied vinyl graphics will be recycled as particular process and companies will need to be engaged, requiring more effort. Moreover, vinyl graphics come with concerns about microplastics used in their adhesive. In contrast, engineered cardboard is a more accessible waste stream and poses fewer environmental issues. It is believed that only 18% of PVC is recycled, in comparison to 70% of cardboard. 

If printing on a plastic substrate is unavoidable, it is recommended to avoid materials with PVC, such as foamex. Instead, consider using materials like Smart X (100% Polystyrene - PS) or Akyprint (100% Polypropylene - PP) Both PP & PS are less harmful to the environment than PVC.

To further enhance sustainability, explore printing direct to media or laser etching on reusable materials such as plywood. Alternatively, you can use laser-cut plywood to achieve an embossed look and feel, adding a unique touch to your pop-up shop.

By making thoughtful choices regarding artwork and graphics, you can align your pop-up shop with sustainable intentions and minimise its environmental impact.

STEP 7; PLAN YOUR OPERATIONS