WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN PURCHASING ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY FURNITURE

I have become increasingly aware of what to look for when buying furniture. I am fortunate to have the knowledge of what is credible. It is not easy for the average person to navigate this world and know what is important and what to look for. Thus, I have tried to give you a general guide on the important issues with furniture production, recycling, and what pieces are "more" important to care about.

When I would purchase furniture in the past, I never thought about what was sprayed on top, filled within, where it was made, and what happened to it after I was finished with it. These days myself and a lot of others are trying to make responsible decisions. Creating healthier products that will provide a healthy home for your family and environment.

Here is a statistic that I learned through The United States Green Building Council: 90 percent of our time is spent indoors.  This being said it is important for us all to pay attention to the quality, quantity, and location of items purchased.

• LOW TOXICITY FURNITURE - There are health issues to think about when purchasing furniture. Was the piece of furniture sprayed with Fire Retardants, Formaldehyde Glues, Plastic Foam Inserts?  All of these materials create VOC's (Volitile Organic Compounds) which off gas into your home. In children these harmful chemicals have been proven to be endocrine disruptor's. Causing life long health issues. For adults they can cause asthma and reproductive issues.  The Greenseal Certification will be displayed by the company if they are omitting harmful VOC's from their products. I feel, the most important piece of furniture you should think about is your family sofa. Whether it be den or living room. You know a piece of furniture is off gassing if it generally smells like new car smell. Look for materials such as wool, cotton, and down or a soy based foam insert. Research the company and always see what type of Certifications they hold and how they explain their manufacturing process.

• RECLAIMED MATERIALS - These are materials such as wood that are reused. To insure this is credible there is a certification from the Rain forest Alliance called the Rediscovered Wood Certification.

• SUSTAINABLE WOOD - FSC Certification (Forest Stewardship Council) is the global standard for insuring wood is harvested with best practices. 

• RAPIDLY RENEWABLE MATERIALS - Bamboo, soy for foam inserts, even wool is rapidly renewable!  There is an issue though with products being made with rapidly renewable materials. Lots are mass produced and still use toxic glues and cheap manufacturing practices. This is when you have to put your thinking hat on and see through the green washing. If the product is still relatively cheap and made in the Far East, it probably is a rapidly renewable material but does not hold the rest of the principles discussed here.

• RECYCLING - Metal and Plastic recycling fall under the Cradle to Cradle Certification. This certification insures responsible life cycle assessment of a product. For example, Herman Miller uses cradle to cradle in their business practices trying to mitigate the end use of the product (landfill).  Chairs are re purposed and parts reused.

• THINK SMALL/THINK LESS - In our society today, more and more things are coveted because it has always been a superficial indicator of prosperity. Bigger is always better when it comes to homes, cars, jewelry, toys. The problem with this is we get bored and inevitably want new bigger products. I am not suggesting you give up on buying new furniture.  When you do, buy the best quality you can afford with the principles discussed and plan to keep it. We all like to change but do so with accessories or smaller products.

• BUY LOCAL/MADE IN AMERICA- Green House Gas emissions released through manufacturing and transport. Water usage? Responsible Sourcing: Human Rights issues - Fair Labor Practices?  Socioeconomic - Giving back to your community? The Far East is a long way away. Think about how long it takes one individual to get there on a plane. Then think about all of the sofa's on a cargo ship being transported back to the US.  It is counterproductive to say you will never buy an item from China again but if you are buying furniture to fill a room or house look for products which are not "all" from one location. Try and purchase from local craftsmen or companies producing in America. 

• COMPANY CREDIBILITY AND TRANSPARENCY - Meaning do they disclose their policies on their website?  Do they have a tract record of being responsible and giving back to the community, engaging in new technologies, and conveying them to the consumer? What are the companies values? Are they a member of the United States Green Building Council ?        

• REUSED - Housing Works in NYC has great high end reused finds. Chests, dining room tables, art, all great finds.  I would not suggest buying reused upholstery.

• CERTIFICATIONS - They will be displayed prominently on the companies website or conveyed in store.  FSC, Cradle to Cradle, Green Seal, USGBC, UN Global Compact. My opinion is these are the most credible.

A lot of work still needs to be done to give credibility to companies who claim they are producing environmentally responsible products. Make sure you have formed questions from the information above to make a more thoughtful decision when purchasing new furniture. If a furniture company is credible when it comes to these issues, they will have a sustainability report or be a member of the organizations above. As consumers we can all make a difference. My hope in passing this information on is those who are unaware of these issues feel more comfortable about asking the proper questions.  The more of us who purchase higher quality products, the more universal these practices will become.
       

Be Well,
Kim