Trendspotter: Eco-Friendly Furniture
By Renee Houston Zemanski
Eco-friendly furniture is
trés chic in the decorating world. Even the industry publication Furniture Today has expanded its coverage of green initiatives in the home furnishings industry by introducing a green e-newsletter specifically covering the latest on eco-friendly initiatives. If you’re not into decorating with recycled furniture but still want to be environmentally conscious there’s good news—there are many manufacturers leading the way for this noble cause and many others are jumping on the bandwagon
"Eco-friendly" can encompass many things when it comes to furniture manufacturing. It can mean furniture constructed of reclaimed wood, furniture that is biodegradable, and furniture upholstered with organically grown or even recycled fabrics. Some companies, like Massachusetts-based Furnature, make their furniture “as pure as possible, without chemicals, dyes, polymers, or toxins.” They proclaim that their goods are 100 percent chemical-free, and their fabric options include a range of organic cottons.
Another company with an environmentally conscious attitude is LEE Industries, which has a long track record of eco-friendly manufacturing. The company has certification from the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and is a founding member of the Sustainable Furniture Council, an alliance of companies and individuals committed to the advocacy of sustainable business practices in the home furnishings industry. The company also boasts that it saved over 10,000 gallons of crude oil and eliminated 54,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions with its 2007 NaturalLEE product line. The line consists of furniture constructed with soy-based cushions, reclaimed-plastic backs, and water-based finishes. The wood frames are constructed from engineered panels bonded with soy-based resins, replacing formaldehyde-based resins. Other environmental highlights include back and throw pillows made from 100 percent recycled fibers and seat deck and trim pads made up of 80 percent regenerated fibers—fibers made from a mixture that contains waste fiber.
Vermont Woods Studios offers a gallery of handcrafted environmentally friendly furnishings from a community of woodworkers, artisans, and makers of distinctive luxury furniture. Many other companies are following suit by using FSC-certified materials, sustainable wood, farmed wood, and fast-growing materials like rattan and sea grass. Baltix creates furniture out of sunflower boards, made from sunflower seed shells. It also uses recycled plastic, newsprint, cork, and wheat straw for its creations. Once you tire of the furniture you can even send it back to Baltix for recycling.
Looking for eco-friendly wall coverings? They’re out there! Trendy Los Angeles designers Woodson & Rummerfield recently introduced wall coverings manufactured from recycled paper with vegetable-dye inks and a biodegradable backing; American Clay Plaster offers a variety of finishes made from pure clays and nontoxic pigments; and UltraGlas features unique kiln-formed, embossed glass and tile wall coverings made from a minimum of 15 percent recycled glass.
When painting, choose paints that emit no, or low levels of, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), now offered by popular paint manufacturers. One local faux finish artist uses a combination of cotton fibers and mica to create stunning wall treatments. The finish, from JaDecor, is a patented mixture of natural fibers and minerals in a high-density composition that is troweled onto the wall. JaDecor offers more than 25 types of wall treatments and over 20 additional components, such as mica, silk, dyes, and metallics. The materials can even be dyed by hand to match your decor.
Now take a step down (or up) to flooring. Your eco-friendly choices are limitless. From bamboo to cork, you can choose a variety of nontoxic and sustainable floor coverings in an array of color selections. A few popular manufacturers offering at least some eco-friendly products include EcoTimber, Mirage, Weyerhaeuser, Expanko, Glen Eden, and Shaw (whose nylon rugs can be recycled, whether machine woven, tufted, or printed).
The green movement is also influencing what’s hot in colors. According to the Color Marketing Group (CMG) more and more people are looking for the things they wear and use to look green no matter what color they are: “In 2008 looking stylish means looking natural. Materials will look handmade, undyed, and unbleached. Products will look more like what they’re actually made of, with lots of texture and all the natural imperfections proudly showing through. Off-whites, sandy and linen-y colors, rock and soil colors, brownish-green—the colors of nature—are seriously fashionable now.”
There’s no doubt that environmentally friendly decorating is more than a passing trend. According to a 2007 ImagePower Green Brands survey, consumers expect to double their spending on green products and services in the next year, totaling an estimated $500 billion for 2008—making it a trend to embrace. We have assembled some ideas about how to make eco-friendly decorating choices. Look for them in the Do Your Part section on this page.
Author Renee Houston Zemanski does her part for the environment by rescuing and using old and antique furniture, furniture parts, and found objects to decorate her home.Do Your Part: Eco-friendly decorating choices
Eco-friendly decorating is truly “green” when products are made with recycled materials or when they don’t deplete natural resources. Among their many benefits, often eco-friendly products make little or no contribution to indoor air pollution, much of which comes from other kinds of products. Here are some ways to be environmentally friendly when decorating your home:
Purchase furniture certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC), an organization that promotes products that have been produced in a sustainable fashion (with little environmental impact).
Choose furniture made from reclaimed wood. Reclaimed wood is wood that has already been used (in buildings, barns or houses, railroads, etc.) and is no longer being used.
Revamp used furniture. A can of spray paint can do wonders Refinish, paint (bonus points for using eco-friendly paints), or reupholster used furniture that was handed down from a friend or relative. Or go to auctions, flea markets, garage sales, online resources, or thrift stores and get your furniture at a reasonable price.
Look for “cradle to cradle” recycled products. This means that after a product’s useful life is over it’s broken down into its raw building blocks and they are recycled or reused without loss of quality or they are composted or consumed.
Buy bamboo. Bamboo, one of the fastest-growing plants, is a renewable resource and is a popular choice for eco-friendly decorating.
Consider cork and carpet tiles for flooring. Both Flor and Shaw Carpet Tiles offer squares that use nontoxic dyes and are made from recycled materials. They also come in some really cool choices.
Use low or no VOC paints. Low VOC paints use reduced levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are solvents that emit pollutants into the air. Need to Know: The VOCs in regular paint will off-gas for the entire time that the paint is on the wall. Yikes! Here’s a
website where you can learn more.