In 1996 TOTEM produced the first line of furniture designed with ecology in mind. Today we still believe that a well-designed product has to resolve functional and formal problems, but it must also address commerce and production issues. In order to produce and sell, choices are made, researching and developing new products can and must also be the occasion for making these choices in a more aware way. In particular, TOTEM designs and produces wooden furniture, a renewable resource, a resource which needs to be protected and should be used in a planned, disciplined way. Wood is not only precious, but the forests where it grows are ecological and social systems for those who inhabit them.

In 2005 TOTEM began to develop products in Bolivia, a country going through a new political and cultural season which is making the native populations the protagonists of development and change, as they reclaim their ownership of the country’s natural resources. Bolivia, covered for over 50% by tropical forests (roughly 1,000,000 acres), is one of the countries with the largest presence ecologically and ethically certified forests in the world. TOTEM has thus begun working in Bolivia with Bolivians, designing two new product lines, one of which is manufactured in Santa Cruz (a tropical region) and one in Cochabamba (in the Andes). The Urubichà community weaves the fabric components according to their traditions and esthetic sense.

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