The 7 Best Eco-Friendly Desk Lamps for Your Sustainable Office

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Written by Leigh Matthews, BA Hons, H.Dip. NT

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Leigh Matthews, BA Hons, H.Dip. NT

Sustainability Expert

Leigh Matthews is a sustainability expert and long time vegan. Her work on solar policy has been published in Canada's National Observer.

Updated:

Eco-friendly lighting options for your home office aren’t just about energy efficiency and switching to longer lasting LED bulbs. There are some fantastic eco-friendly desk lamps out there that are made with recycled and recyclable materials.

Table of Contents
  1. Tomons Swing Arm Desk Lamp
  2. Herman Miller Flute Lamp
  3. TaoTronics TT-DL16 Metal LED Desk Lamp
  4. Williston Forge Carlisle 35 Desk Lamp
  5. Andover Mills Sarina 20-Inch Desk Lamp
  6. Novogratz LED for Life Desk Lamp
  7. Ivy Bronx Bohl 22-Inch Lamp
  8. Final thoughts on eco-friendly desk lamps

Even better, those who understand the importance of reducing resource consumption and supporting a circular economy are hard at work designing desk lamps that are easy to repair and don’t have to be thrown wholesale into landfill if one small part breaks.

Below are the LeafScore top picks for the best eco-friendly desk lamps for 2021. You can read about our unique research process here.

1

Tomons Swing Arm Desk Lamp

Leaf Score

Highlights: Offers excellent adjustability with a dash of quirky fun.

The Tomons Swing Arm Desk Lamp is a chirpy little thing made of natural non-toxic wood and iron and offers excellent adjustability with a dash of quirky fun. The lamp is adjustable and straightforward and combines sturdiness with style, making it a great choice for a busy office, kid’s room, or craft zone.

This lamp is easy to adjust without tools and is easy to take apart for storage. It comes with an E26 LED bulb that is easy on the eyes, and it measures 18.5 inches high.

2

Herman Miller Flute Lamp

Leaf Score

Highlights: Provides 200 lumens of medium-warm light, which is easier on your eyes than blue light.

Weighing just 3 lbs, the Flute is a masterwork of design. It has integrated LEDs (I know, I know!) that provide 200 lumens of medium-warm light, which is easier on your eyes than blue light. Operated through touch, the Flute is freestanding and has a head that swivels 230 degrees from left to right.

Here’s where the Flute really shines, though. It’s 85% recyclable and made in the USA from 37% recycled materials. The Flute is also designed so that the LED chips won’t require replacement over its average 24-year lifespan. This lamp also comes with a 5-year Herman Miller warranty and the company itself is extremely committed to environmental initiatives and sustainable design innovation.

So, while I wouldn’t normally recommend a desk lamp with integrated LED lights, I’m making an exception for the Flute desk lamp from Herman Miller. That said, if you like a really bright desk lamp, the Flute is not for you (go for the TaoTronics lamp below). This is a lovely showpiece and an accent light, but not a task light for fine work.

3

TaoTronics TT-DL16 Metal LED Desk Lamp

Leaf Score

Highlights: Has 5 color modes and 6 brightness levels.

The TaoTronics LED desk lamp has 5 color modes and 6 brightness levels, so you can easily toggle between bright light for fine work, softer light for reading, or a super soft night light. There’s also a timer, which can help you conserve energy, and a memory/favorite function, as well as a handy USB charging port.

The lamp has glare-free illumination thanks to the light guide panel, and the lamp is made mostly of metal with integrated LED chips that should last for around 10 years at least. Choose this one over the plastic TaoTronics lamps for more eco-friendliness.

4

Williston Forge Carlisle 35 Desk Lamp

Leaf Score

Highlights: Pulley system for height adjustments makes for easy fixes.

Got an engineer in the family, or just looking for a heavy duty statement desk lamp? Check out the Carlisle 35 desk lamp from Williston Forge. Made with blackened bronze, this lamp has an ingenious pulley system for height adjustments, using simple principles of physics (making for easy fixes!) to raise and lower the light as needed.

LED compatible and available with a metal or glass shade and in three metallic finishes, this one is a robust lamp for serious engineers.

5

Andover Mills Sarina 20-Inch Desk Lamp

Leaf Score

Highlights: This desk lamp has a matching floor lamp.

If you want a matching eco-friendly desk and floor lamp, check out the Sarina. Made of steel, this understated 20-inch accent lamp comes with a classic linen shade and is available in metallic, bronze, and brushed brass. It’s an excellent eco-friendly choice for a home office or a side table to compliment the matching floor lamp made of glass, steel, and linen.

6

Novogratz LED for Life Desk Lamp

Leaf Score

Highlights: Long cord makes this lamp easy to position where you need it, be that a desk or side table.

I’m a big fan of classic Banker’s Lamps, but if the green glass shade isn’t to your taste, check out this modern take on the design. Courtesy of the Novogratz family of designers, in partnership with the tried and true Globe Electric company (founded in 1932!), this lamp has the traditional pull cord and a frosted glass shade that is a little whimsical and gives off lovely ambient light.

An LED bulb is included, so you can get set up right out of the box, and the long cord makes it easy to position where you need it, be that a desk or side table.

7

Ivy Bronx Bohl 22-Inch Lamp

Leaf Score

Highlights: Vertically and horizontally flexible, rotating 360 degrees and 90 degrees respectively.

Got a Star Trek fan in your house? Check out this trekkie aesthetic desk lamp. OK, so it’s not an official trekkie lamp, but the resemblance to Star Fleet’s emblem is uncanny. And, as you’d expect from our future selves, this lamp is LED compatible and eco-friendly thanks to its stainless steel construction. It’s also vertically and horizontally flexible, rotating 360 degrees and 90 degrees respectively.


Final thoughts on eco-friendly desk lamps

Well, there you have it, a short list of some of the best eco-friendly lamps on the market. We factored in use of recycled materials, LED lightbulbs, ease of use and brightness levels. The Herman Miller lamp, while small, is especially attractive because the lamp parts are almost entirely recyclable and the lamp is manufactured using recycled materials. It might not be bright enough for everyone, but it’s a solid choice for your home office.

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  1. Thank you for the detailed introduction!
    But I really like a desk lamp with a traditional light bulb which said good for eyes than LED?

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