8 Top Questions About Sustainable Furniture
When buying a piece of furniture, there are various factors that people tend to consider before making their final decision, which is usually the colour, size, style, and price of the piece of furniture they’re looking at (in no particular order). And now, there is another element to consider, which is the sustainability of the furniture. More than ever, people want to understand how sustainable both the furniture and the business they are buying from are, and if you’re keen to do the same, here are 8 top questions about sustainable furniture to help you on your way.
1. What is Sustainable Furniture?
Perhaps the most important question, is what sustainable furniture is. Essentially, sustainable furniture design sees the use of materials with very little, if any, negative impact on the environment. In a nutshell, it is eco-friendly furniture.
2. What Makes a Piece of Furniture Sustainable?
There are several different elements which can make a piece of furniture sustainable. Firstly, is it brand new or recycled furniture? If it’s brand new, then look at the materials used, who the suppliers are and their accreditations. Have the materials come from renewable sources? What chemicals were used in the creation of these materials? If the piece of furniture uses wood, is there an FsC logo? This stands for Forest Stewardship Council – a not-for-profit organisation that promotes responsible management of the world’s forests. If the wood used has been sourced from a sustainable forest, it will have an FSC logo stamped on it.
For example, look at our Starling range – its wood frame is made of sustainable teak and features a rattan back.
3. What is the Most Sustainable Furniture?
It’s hard to pinpoint the most sustainable furniture – with new technology and design, eco-friendly furniture is making great waves and changing every day! But for it to even be considered in the most sustainable field, it would need to use sustainable furniture materials and manufacturing processes, create very little or no waste and have a minimal carbon footprint.
4. Why is Sustainability Important in the Furniture Industry?
In today’s climate, sustainability is important in every industry. But for the furniture industry, using renewable materials will help to maintain balance within the environment, while reducing the use of chemicals will have a positive impact on both humans and the environment!
5. How Do You Choose Sustainability for Furniture?
Choosing a sustainable sofa is simply a case of doing your research. Most furniture manufacturers will have a sustainability statement on their website, which details what they are doing to work towards a more sustainable future, and you can take one step further by looking at their suppliers. For example, if you want a leather sofa, you can investigate the traceability of the leather and the tannery itself. There are several associations which audit tanneries, including the Leather Working Group and the Sustainable Leather Foundation, and they have a lot of information on their website.
6. How Do You Sustainably Buy Furniture?
To buy furniture sustainably, consider the journey your furniture will make to your house. Buying from the country you live in reduces the mileage that piece of furniture will have to travel to get to you, which helps to reduce its (and your) carbon footprint. Also, find out how much packaging your furniture comes in – and opt for a company that has a policy on reducing its waste.
7. Is Bamboo Furniture Sustainable?
Let’s start with what bamboo is. It’s a tree-like grass that doesn’t need chemicals to support its growth. It matures a lot quicker than trees (about 5 years) and can be harvested many times. So, in theory, bamboo is the gift that keeps on giving. It is used to make lots of different products, including furniture, clothing and even food. But is it sustainable? The answer is, it depends on how it’s grown, and the manufacturing processes used. If grown and used organically, which tends to be the case with furniture, then yes, it is eco-friendly. If it’s possible to find out any information about where the bamboo furniture in question has come from, you should be able to ascertain if it’s been grown sustainably.
8. Do People Want Sustainable Furniture?
There has been a real shift in awareness in recent years about the importance of sustainability, as the Consumer Study Report in 2021 shows. But it also shows that there is still a lack of understanding of what constitutes sustainable furniture and that there is a need for information to be made more readily available for customers, to enable them to make informed decisions.
Have a read about Darlings of Chelsea’s current sustainable practices and our ambitions for the future.
