Impact on health
During purchasing furniture for your home, health and safety should be in top priority. Because, toxins in furniture create poor indoor air quality which causes different kinds of health problems like emphysema, asthma, headaches and fatigue. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) from glues, paints, varnishes and adhesives and PVC from finish materials are responsible for the environment pollution of your home. It has been observed that if the product is cheaper, the possibility of more toxic in it is also more.
Look for: Solid wood or metal without VOC finishes are the best options.
Avoid: Fabrics, finishes, paints, fabrics with VOCs and any wood composite materials like plywood and particleboard which are not clearly labelled as ‘non-toxic’ or ‘low-VOC’ are likely to be toxic adhesives holder.
Reusing, recycling and life cycle
Positive thinking furniture companies consider the consumer’s concern about recycling of products. They always try to design and manufacture their products to be reused or recycled at the end of their life span.
Look for: Metal furniture is often great option in terms of recycling. Steel and aluminum furniture are prepared from recycled content. Sometimes, plastics are also reusable, but it is necessary to check labels in order to be confirmed it before purchasing. Some companies even permit you to return pieces directly to them to be recycled when you are ready to do it.
Typically, it is very complicated to recycle wood, but it can be reused very easily. Also, due to its characteristics of longevity and timeless, you will not ever want to avoid it anyway.
Renewable sources
In order to manufacture furniture, using raw materials from renewable sources is excellent thinking to go green. Renewable products manufactured from bamboo, cork or agri boards are great source of renewable materials.
Look for: Wood is the low impact leader if appropriately harvested.
Avoid: Plastics are manufactured from petroleum. It is very difficult to consider it as a renewable source. Therefore, pieces that are manufactured from recycled plastic should be avoided.
Quality and longevity
The best sustainable choice is building quality indeed. During purchasing furniture, always consider the quality and longevity of materials of furniture in terms of economy and environment safety.
Look for: Craftsmanship and great design are the greenest solution of all. Loving a piece of furniture is as like as keeping it forever and promote it on to next generations.
Avoid: Poorly constructed furniture seems to be a great cheap. It will provide you temporary solution, but there is always a doubt remains in our mind about the longevity and environment impact of these products. So, we should avoid these types of products.