Architerra Green Statement

Our Ecological Mission:

  • Increase our impact on the community
  • Decrease our impact on the environment

Our Process:

Raw Materials

  • The majority of ingredients in our proprietary clay recipe are harvested regionally and blended locally, minimizing their transportation footprint
  • All 'washes' used to color our tile contain the simplest of ingredients: water, clay and earth oxides
  • Founded Mined Materials Environmental Stewardship (MiMES) aimed at creating an economic incentive for the environmentally responsible and sustainable mining of minerals used in ceramics manufacturing

Powered (primarily) by People

  • Loving hands form each tile rather than electrically powered presses
  • Each tile is hand painted using brushes, not powered sprayers, resulting in minimal waste and pollutants
  • We personally escort our tile through the entire creation process, without relying on electric conveyor belts
  • Our firing technique is a single-fire process, dramatically reducing kiln times and energy consumption compared to traditional bisque-fired ceramics
  • Our kilns are programmed on automated cycles, thus maximizing energy efficiency
  • The water spent in our tumbling process is reused
  • We utilize the services of the City of Austin, Ecology Action and others to recycle paper, glass, plastic, metals, outdated technology, ink cartridges - you name it, we try it!

Leaving Home

  • We reuse inbound shipping materials whenever we can and purchase only 100% biodegradable peanuts
  • Local artisans have first dibs on our misfit material, while the remainder is routinely donated to Habitat for Humanity and other local causes