Selecting your furniture might be one of the most challenging aspects of adopting a more sustainable lifestyle. It can be difficult to wrap your brain around properly — much less avoid — the hundreds of harmful chemicals that are utilized in and on a standard sofa, mattress, and workstation. This is especially true for preventing exposure to these chemicals. However, it is well worth the trouble because we use it for longer periods than practically any other consumer good.
There are certain principles to follow toward choosing eco-friendly sofas, cabinets, and chairs. Let’s begin with fundamental concepts, then proceed to the brands that make a significant impact in being good to the planet.
“Sustainable furniture is not just a choice, it’s a lifestyle.”
– Anonymous
What Is Sustainable Furniture?
Sustainable furniture uses eco-friendly materials. These materials are commonly recycled and created from renewable resources. One example of a fast-growing renewable resource is bamboo. Sustainable furniture avoids dangerous chemicals and uses harmless paints and stains instead.
What Are Sustainable Manufacturing Practices?
Sustainability is essential for any company concerned about being green, especially when making things. Sustainable manufacturing is a manner that reduces the impact that human beings have on the environment and nature. When companies follow organic and sustainable methods, there are several benefits to the company itself and society as a whole.
How are these practices achieved?
These practices are achieved by organic production, which uses renewable resources such as plants, animals, water, and minerals without harmful practices.
Moreover, sustainable furniture often avoids hazardous chemicals and comprises nontoxic paints and stains that do not off-gas or generate VOCs (volatile organic compounds).
Eco-Friendly Transportation
Eco-Friendly transportation of goods takes the form of several different strategies. These strategies include:
- Buying local
- Sustainable manufacturing practices include environmentally conscious approaches to material selection and processing, including material use/recycling and emissions reductions.
- Buying from small, local manufacturers and artisans. This option can indeed be a little more expensive. However, it is still an incredibly sustainable option compared to buying large-scale furniture from far away.
- Buying used or vintage furnishings
- Using shipping companies that have environmental standards in place and support sustainable practices.
Certified Sustainable Wood
There are eco-friendly solutions for furniture manufactured from wood, fabric, metal, plastic, and other materials. When cave dwellers learned that stones were not the most comfortable seats, they almost definitely turned to wood, so let’s begin there.
“The environment and the economy are really both two sides of the same coin. If we cannot sustain the environment, we cannot sustain ourselves.”
– Wangari Maathai
There are environmentally friendly methods of harvesting wood. The primary sources are wood from sustainably harvested forests, tree farms, and salvaged wood. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an excellent certification system that regulates clear-cutting and encourages healthy working conditions.
Reclaimed Wood
Reclaimed wood is the product of salvaged wood from demolished buildings and other sources. There are several health benefits associated with reclaimed wood, as it contains natural chemicals that inhibit the growth of harmful organisms. Moreover, reclaimed wood provides an excellent opportunity to give new life to industrial waste products and reduce the environmental impact of wooden furniture.
Bamboo
You have most likely been informed by this point that bamboo is, in fact, grass and not a tree at all. Bamboo is the common name for a family of grasses ranging in size from very little to quite large and in color from bright lime green to stripes of burgundy. Because of its incredible rate of growth and adaptability, it has emerged as the de facto poster material of choice among environmental designers and builders looking for sustainability.
“Sustainable furniture is about more than just materials. It’s about creating products that are designed to last a lifetime.”
– Anonymous
Recycled Metal and Plastic
More and more furniture, such as the recycled aluminum Icon Chair, is built from recycled plastics and metals. Recycled materials demand less processing and fewer resources, and they help sustain the recycled materials industry. As technologies continue to advance, recycled plastics and metals continue to improve in quality.
10 Top Sustainable Furniture Companies
1. Medley
This sustainable furniture brand focuses on creating stylish, minimalist, eco-friendly home furnishing. For furniture frames, kiln-dried alder hardwood is employed, whereas solid walnut and maple are used for tables and other hard items.
All their products use only use FSC-certified wood. In their Los Angeles studio, Medley manufactures what they refer to as “people furniture” since it is ethically crafted by craftsmen using old-fashioned processes.
2. Avocado
Are you aware that the majority of mattresses are toxic? They are in infused with flame retardants and other chemicals, whose fumes you might inhale every night. Additionally, they are typically composed of polyester and other non-ecological materials.
Fortunately, Avocado’s eco-friendly mattresses provide an eco-friendly touch to your sleep! Their bed frames, headboards, and other bedroom furniture are produced from 100 percent recycled wood and sealed with a zero-VOC finish. Their mattresses are composed entirely of natural materials. And the highlight? They provide pillows, linens, and blankets that are organic and vegan.
3. Eco Balanza
Eco Balanza is an eco-friendly furniture brand whose products mix historical aesthetics with contemporary hues and forms. It is a sad reality that most corporations pack their couches and chairs with polyfoams and cover them with textiles that have been chemically treated. Not this brand, however!
Eco Balanza consistently uses more eco-friendly materials in its designs. They take great pride in ensuring that their products are 100 percent free of harmful chemicals, which avoids allergic reactions on the skin and environmental damage.
4. Made Trade
Made Trade provides clean-lined, traditionally modest home sustainable furniture like dining chairs, bed frames, living rooms, and dining rooms. Made Trade also offers carpets, mattresses, and curtains from organic cotton, linen, TENCEL, and hemp. Moreover, the most significant part is that? They also sell eco-friendly apparel and accessories!
5. Myakka
Myakka is a certified ecological and ethically sustainable furniture manufacturer, and its suppliers in India, Vietnam, and Thailand give workers a living wage. Twice a year, the organization attends these places to ensure continuous progress. Myakka also obtains certified wood from sustainably managed, government-controlled plantations.
6. Cisco Home
Cisco Home is an environmentally conscious furniture company that manufactures and ethically sources its products. Cisco has videos that showcase the many ecologically friendly procedures utilized and incredible footage from inside the production buildings where the artisans are employed.
In addition to using eco-friendly materials, such as FSC certified wood and reclaimed wood, upcycled materials, water-based treatments, and organic oils, the eco-friendly home furnishings firm also employs hand-blown glass.
7. West Elm
Aside from being one of the most excellent sustainable furniture manufacturers for every area in your home, West Elm are also committed to promoting ethical programs like Fair Trade community development through its items.
West Elm’s sustainable furniture is as environmentally friendly as it gets, owing to the use of FSC-certified materials, organic cotton, and other nontoxic components.
The brand is happy to allow its clients to purchase based on their values. For example, you can look for handcrafted, organic, or Fair Trade-Certified eco furniture.
8. Maiden Home
This company manufactures stunning eco friendly furniture made from sustainable materials. Pieces from Maiden Home are designed to last a lifetime, but you won’t find them dull because they are handcrafted to order with meticulous attention to detail.
This sustainable furniture company uses recycled steel springs, CertiPUR-US® soy-based foam, and sustainably obtained solid hardwood that is sourced following the principles of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. In addition, Maiden Home does not use any potentially dangerous chemicals, such as flame retardants, and makes an effort to acquire water-based and low-VOC adhesives and stains.
9. Crate and Barrel
Crate & Barrel is another prominent retail company that has expanded its product range to include an environmentally friendly furniture selection. The business has an extensive piece of wood furniture that is FSC-certified for use in various settings, including dining rooms, living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, and even outdoor furniture.
10. Haiku Designs
Haiku Designs is a sustainable and eco friendly furniture company that makes stylish, high-quality, nontoxic, and valuable pieces for the home. The brand uses eco-friendly materials like bamboo and solid wood from responsible sources. The International Tropical Timber Organization has given Haiku a certificate that verifies the company gets its certified wood legally and sustainably.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Author’s Note
If you’re looking for the most eco furniture manufacturers, your best choice purchase products made from recycled materials. In addition, while some brands are adamant in their efforts to make sure that the solid wood they use comes from responsibly managed forests and bioresources, others only have policies regarding using water-based finishes or eliminating VOCs.
Therefore, always find out what the brand’s environmental policies are and what they do to be environmentally friendly before making a purchase.
Read these articles to learn more about sustainability: Everyday Habits for a More Sustainable Lifestyle, Sustainable Interior Design, Sustainable Fashion Trends, Sustainable Toothpaste
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