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Seeking ways to make your home greener and the planet happier? Keep reading to discover the key qualities to look for when on the hunt for environmentally-friendly furniture.
High Quality & Durable
The first step to transforming your home into an ecological haven is ditching the fast furniture mindset. While affordable, flat-pack furniture may seem appealing for quick-fix revamps, cheap, low-quality furniture not only erodes environmental health but also ends up draining our bank accounts as it has to be replaced more frequently.
With this in mind, investing in high-quality furniture that’s built to last is evidently the greener option. Even if your style and tastes change over the years, people are much more likely to take it off your hands if it’s fully intact and in good condition — not to mention the opportunities it provides to get stuck into creative upcycling projects!
Made from Sustainable Materials
Quality and durability are the most important aspects of sustainable furniture, but it’s unrealistic to assume that a piece of furniture won’t end up in a landfill one day. For that reason, it’s worth being mindful of what it’s made from so that when it does reach the end of its life it can be easily disassembled — leaving behind components that can be repurposed or recycled individually without polluting the planet.
Here are just a few of the sustainable materials among many others that you can look out for:
Certified Sustainable Wood
Purchasing furniture that is sustainably harvested from forests prevents the exploitation of this precious resource — trees are the lungs of the earth, after all.
Reclaimed Wood
Making use of the wood that’s already out there is another option. It’s also a great way to give your interior décor an industrial/coastal touch.
Bamboo
Bamboo is a fast-growing grass that regenerates from its own roots, uses less water, and requires no fertilizer. It’s incredibly versatile: it can be flattened into flooring, molded into furniture, sliced into blinds, and pretty much build an entire home.
Locally Sourced
It may be tempting to order a glamorous Hollywood mirror from China or even splash out on luxury Italian furniture — but if you’re a fully-fledged eco-warrior it’s essential to take distance into consideration. Sourcing and manufacturing furniture domestically ensures a shorter supply chain, fewer carbon emissions, and less fuel consumption.
Free From Toxins
You may not know this, but dangerous toxins are lurking in your home. They’re known as VOCs, phthalates, and flame retardants, and they can be found on couches, closets, and cupboards — particularly those that have been painted or protected with varnish. You can improve the air quality in your home by being more conscious about the chemicals used in the production of your furniture. In other words, always look for untreated or naturally-treated furniture with non-toxic and eco-friendly finishes. Opting for vintage furniture is another way to dodge toxins, as it’s likely to have already off-gassed all of the chemicals in its former home.
Pre-Loved
If you really want to streamline your eco-friendly furniture shopping experience, all you need to do is go down the second-hand route. This prevents a fine piece of furniture from reaching a landfill and allows it to earn its place in its forever home (especially since it has already demonstrated its ability to withstand the test of time).
Flea markets and websites like Craigslist are ideal for tracking down used furniture, but you can make your life as an eco-shopper even easier by purchasing from companies like CouchCycled; a Dallas-based company that sources and sells used couches — comfort, quality, and longevity guaranteed.
