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Selecting Green Furniture
June 3rd, 2008
I’m fascinated with the zero-footprint idea. I find myself wanting to learn more and more.
So my last entry talked about going green with paint products, flooring and countertops that use fair, sustainable, non-toxic practices. This time I want to talk about Green Furniture.
The commitment to green design factors includes the three Rs: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE. How does this apply to furniture?
REUSE. Using what you already have in a new way is the easiest way to be green. Ask yourself if what you already have is functional but simply needs repair or a facelift. Many of the pieces we’ve lived and worked with for many years can become almost new when they are fixed, re-finished or re-upholstered.
Sometimes though, re-using something we already have simply won’t work. Repairs aren’t always inexpensive, furniture shapes may not match the style you’re going for, or it may simply be the wrong size. If this applies to you, then selling or donating your furniture so it can find a new life elsewhere is a great way to reduce the waste stream coming off a home or office design project.
RECYCLE. When you’ve decided that reusing an object isn’t a viable option, shift your thinking toward recycling. This doesn’t have to mean reverting to your college dorm days and scouting out comfy chairs sitting on the side of the road with “Free” signs. Antique stores have practiced this sustainable art for as long as people have been designing living and work spaces. If antiques don’t suit your fancy, you can also look for design companies which re-use products to make new, sometimes funky, designs.
Still can’t find the exact right piece to fit in the space? Sometimes buying new is unavoidable. But doing so doesn’t have to mean buying couches soaked in hundreds of chemicals or a desk made of unpronounceable, man-made substances. There are a wide variety of sustainable, eco-focused furniture designers who create modern amazing work. If you’re going to buy new, think long-term and buy a well-made piece you really love, even if it takes saving your money to get it.
GREEN WASHING. When looking for new, sustainable furniture, beware of “green-washing” — when companies tout practices that simply aren’t sustainable. Look closely at products with sustainable claims (http://www.terrachoice.com/files/6_sins.pdf). Furniture which is truly green will have Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood (www.fsc-us.org), be made with organic or recycled fabrics, come from a socially responsible manufacturer (as local as possible) and will have an open manufacturing process, open to inspection by customers.
To help you add the three Rs to your design process, here’s a list of some of our favorite suppliers:
Upholsterers
Eidem Custom Upholstery
AW Hoss and Sons
Antiques/reclaimed suppliers:
Antique Liquidators
Antika
David Smith
Glenn Richards
Recycled furniture
Camelion Design
City Trees Furniture
New products
Greener Lifestyles
Soaring Heart
Terris Draheim
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