What is sustainable furniture and why choose it?
Sustainability
It is a word that we hear often nowadays, but what does it actually mean? In environmental terms, it is about striking a balance between giving and taking, about not using natural resources faster than they are created, and about recycling and reusing materials faster than they are thrown away. Being sustainable is a simple concept, but putting it into practice is one of the biggest challenges the society is facing.
Sustainable design of offices and other spaces plays a key role in increasing people’s well-being. This can be achieved by providing comfort, improving working conditions and improving the quality of life, while reducing environmental impact. Sustainability can be thought of in broad categories such as materials and resources.
Sustainable furniture in an office space has various ecological benefits.
Firstly, such furniture has a longer life cycle than conventional furniture, as it is designed to ensure that it will not be discarded after a few years. Secondly, buying recycled furniture saves energy and electricity. Thirdly, this type of furniture is made from environmentally friendly materials and is often made from recycled materials, which is good news for the environment.
Basic elements of sustainable design:
- Plastic
Plastic waste is one of the main problems we face today. Sustainable furniture production makes such waste a resource.
- Steel
One of the most widely used materials in the world is steel. It has high durability and low cost, and it is recyclable.
- Aluminum
The production of unwrought aluminum is energy-intensive – the use of recycled aluminum in production is the key to sustainability practices.
- Wood
Ethically harvested wood provides minimal impact on the world’s fragile forests, providing significant benefits to the planet’s health.
- Wool
Sustainable wool provides an environmentally friendly solution for furniture fabrics.
One of our chairs in the THOMSON Furniture showroom, HÅG Capisco, was named the best plastic recycling product in Europe, winning an award from the European Association of Plastic Recycling and Recovery Organizations.
Capisco currently uses 100% recycled polypropylene (PP) and a range of recycled or sustainable fabrics to choose from, including 100% recycled polyester in the Xtreme range or sustainable Norwegian wool, as part of Capisco’s award-winning partnership with Gudbrandsdalens Uldvarefabrik and Sandnes Garn.
Recycling furniture and materials is only one side of sustainability
Manufacturers receiving an EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) provide the consumer with transparent and comparable information on product life cycle impacts and the environment. It calculates the full environmental impact from the extraction of materials to the final delivery, declaring important indicators such as the product’s carbon footprint and the proportion of recycled materials.
An interesting fact is that more than 95% of the total environmental impact of products occurs before parts and components even reach the factories. Therefore, special attention must be paid to where the materials are obtained from and how far they have to be to reach the factory.
Although the EPD does not prescribe that the product is environmentally friendly, it does provide a clear indication of the overall impact of the product, which allows consumers to compare the product EPD to some extent in order to see the difference between different manufacturers.
In addition, the furniture can be Greenguard certified, which means that the product and the materials used in its production do not emit harmful gases and contribute to a healthy indoor climate. For example, in the case of the HÅG Capisco chair, this means that the company has abandoned the adhesive in the production process, replacing it with other methods, such as using twine.
By changing some everyday habits and what furniture is purchased and used, it is possible to reduce your carbon footprint. When inviting to choose furniture that is sustainable, we encourage you to choose quality, the opportunity to replace parts, not all furniture, if anything happens to it. In this way, sustainable furniture helps not only the environment, but also businesses and homes, by saving money.