Zorora Sofas: Designed for living, crafted with purpose

Based in Cape Town, this South African design house is quietly reshaping the local furniture landscape, proving that sustainability can be more than a promise. It can be the product itself. At Zorora, sustainability is not a department or a seasonal campaign. It is the architecture of the business - from the provenance of its pine and plywood frames, to the precision of its localised manufacturing and carbon-conscious delivery routes.

Each piece is made to order. Each fabric is hand-selected, Oeko-Tex® certified, and cut carefully to reduce waste. Off-cuts are not discarded, but transformed into dog beds, scatter cushions and, increasingly, UpCycled Pillow Fill. Foam remnants, too, are redirected from landfill. By 2026, the brand plans to complete this loop with in-house recycling infrastructure that turns excess into new possibilities.

“We build for longevity,” says Richard Andrews, co-founder and CEO. “Our frames are engineered to outlast trends. Our upholstery is chosen not just for its palette or texture, but for its resilience. We’re designing with tomorrow in mind.”

Central to Zorora’s ethos is localism, not just in manufacturing, but in material sourcing, workforce development, and supply chain partnerships. The brand prefers proximity to import, sustainability to scalability, and substance to speed. By partnering with local delivery operators and streamlining inter-regional logistics, Zorora reduces emissions while supporting community economies.

And while the product narrative begins with sustainability, it ends in design. Each sofa is intentionally understated - quietly elegant, built for how people live, and adaptable to a multitude of interior worlds. Through its Zorora Connect platform, the brand partners with interior designers and architects to deliver bespoke pieces that respond to space, mood, and modern life.

What lies ahead feels less like innovation and more like a natural evolution. Modular sofas are designed for longevity. Take-back schemes that create circularity. Showrooms with reusables, not single-use plastics. Smaller decentralised workshops that keep production close to place.

As Dale Furphy, CIO and founder, puts it, “We’re not interested in fast furniture. We’re interested in furniture that endures. Pieces that hold their shape and their purpose for years. Beauty that doesn’t cost the earth.”