Circular Sampling Solutions with Swatchbox

BIID Platinum Partner Swatchbox is addressing one of the industry's most overlooked sustainability challenges: what happens to material samples once a project comes to an end? Second Life Samples® is the first fully circular sampling initiative for the architecture and design community. It is helping designers align daily operations with environmental values.

The Hidden Cost of Sampling

Each design project leaves behind a physical record of creative decisions. Floorplans document decisions, photographs capture transformations, but one element often goes unrecorded: the stacks of samples that shaped every material choice along the way. Once a project concludes, those samples accumulate in drawers and storage boxes across design studios.

Some are carefully labeled for potential reuse, others forgotten entirely. Most, eventually, end up in landfill. As sustainability becomes central to design practice, the question of what happens to these materials is gaining urgency.

Why the Current System Fails Designers

The obvious solution would be for designers to return samples to manufacturers after projects conclude. Many conscientious practitioners do attempt this, but the reality proves far more complicated than it appears. 

Interior designer Naomi Wheeler describes the typical process: "Depending on how heavy my workload was, I would actually spend maybe two hours firing out emails to the sales reps saying: we've got a box of tiles, would you mind popping by and collecting them for us?"

That initial outreach is only the beginning. Wheeler continues: "Probably a day sorting them into piles for different manufacturers, and then you've got to sit and email them and arrange a day, and they're not all going to turn up on the same day and collect it all."

A full day of work sorting, organising, contacting multiple companies, and coordinating collection schedules represents a significant cost for busy practices. Even then, manufacturer collection isn't guaranteed. Not all companies have reverse logistics infrastructure. Some respond enthusiastically to collection requests, others are indifferent or simply don't reply. The inconsistency makes the entire process unreliable.

Disposal becomes the default option not because designers lack environmental commitment, but because the system makes sustainable choices prohibitively expensive in time and effort.

A Systemic Approach to Circularity

What has been missing from the industry is a systemic solution that treats sample circularity as fundamental to how sampling works, rather than as an afterthought. Second Life Samples® was designed to address precisely this gap.

Building on Swatchbox's original return service, which has offered free returns for samples ordered through its platform since 2018, Second Life Samples significantly expands the scope. The initiative now accepts any complete and undamaged samples, regardless of origin. Designers are no longer limited to returning only samples ordered through one platform. Entire material libraries can now enter the circular system.

The process has been deliberately simplified. Participating firms schedule collection with Swatchbox with no sorting required, no separating by manufacturer, and no preparing individual boxes for different companies. A courier collects all unwanted samples.

From Collection to Redistribution

Once collected, returned samples undergo inspection and analysis through a proprietary process that includes an AI-powered visual engine. Each sample's condition is assessed, and identifying information such as brand name, product line, and SKU is assigned. After processing, samples receive metadata and are listed back on the Swatchbox platform for other architects and designers to order. 

For samples that cannot be reused in their original capacity (those no longer actively sold by manufacturers or lacking clear identification) the program offers a second pathway. These materials are made available to students and educators for use in design programs and studios, where they serve perfectly for learning and experimentation. Damaged or incomplete samples are processed through responsible recycling streams.

To date, more than 90 percent of materials collected through the program have proven suitable for reuse, speaking both to the quality of samples in circulation and the thoroughness of Swatchbox's evaluation process.

Impact on Design Practice

For many materials, there is no meaningful difference between a sample that has served one project and a new sample from the manufacturer. Both are complete, undamaged, and perfectly suited for material evaluation. The primary difference lies in environmental impact.

"Being able to return samples easily keeps our shelves from overflowing," notes Wheeler. "It's a small thing, but it makes a big difference in how we work."

Second Life Samples represents a shift in how the industry can approach material sampling. By building circularity into the sampling infrastructure itself, rather than leaving it to individual practices to solve, Second Life Samples removes the friction that has historically prevented sustainable sample management.

Designers who order samples through Swatchbox can now explore listings labelled Second Life Samples, offering a more sustainable sourcing option. These samples have been professionally inspected, properly identified, and are ready to serve their next project. Meanwhile, firms interested in participating can become Swatchbox Firm Partners, gaining access to on-demand pickups and tools to streamline their sample libraries while reducing waste.

To learn more about Second Life Samples or to become a Swatchbox Firm Partner, visit https://secondlife.swatchbox.com 

Note: Swatchbox is a BIID Platinum Partner. This article has been produced as part of our sponsored partnership programme.