Upholstery resource G. Romano offers soy-based seat cushions, water-based adhesives and eco-friendly fabrics, including natural fibers, recycled cotton and bamboo.
Kalalou’s rustic pendant glass shades are made from recycled glass.
Southern California’s Creative Elegance has been using low-VOC (volatile organic materials) materials to manufacture furniture for years. This is just one of the green steps the company takes to reduce air pollution in the United States—and in your home.
Shaw Living offers a variety of area rugs woven from 100 percent recyclable nylon. The design shown is part of the Kathy Ireland Home International First Lady Collection.
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Green Home Furnishings
Choosing the more earth-friendly product is easier for shoppers today than it was in past decades. This is true at all price points and consumer goods categories, from aluminum foil and automobiles to cleaning products and washing machines. When it comes to furniture and home furnishings, however, finding eco-friendly products is more challenging than strolling through the supermarket aisles. Still, it gets easier each year.
“The world has changed unbelievably in the last couple of years,” according to Jeff Hiller of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, a non-profit association committed to increasing awareness about green home furnishings. “Every style, every product category, every manufacturer is doing something that has a sustainability dimension to it, so you don’t have to sacrifice aesthetic or [shop a specific] price point. It’s a question of knowing what you’re looking for and finding it.”
One of the easiest ways to identify green home furnishings is to focus on the materials used to manufacture home products. Purchase cues to look for include:
Sustainable Woods:
Third-part certifiers such as the Forest Stewardship Council (an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests) or the (link to http://www.sfiprogram.org) Sustainable Forestry Initiative (an independent, non-profit organization responsible for maintaining, overseeing and improving an international sustainable forestry certification program) validate a company’s environmentally responsible sourcing of sustainable woods. Look for the FSC or SFI trademarked labels to be either on the product itself or included in product specification materials.
Finishes:
Many wood finishes and painted topcoats are made with contaminants that adversely affect a home’s indoor air quality, because they omit off-gas toxic fumes. To go greener, look for furnishings treated to formaldehyde-free; no- or low-VOC (volatile organic compounds); and no-TAC (toxic air contaminants) finishes. Non-toxic, water-based stains and topcoats are the most eco option. (Note: Look for non-toxic glues and water-based, formaldehyde-free adhesives.)
Reclaimed Materials:
Thanks to influential lifestyle merchants, reclaimed and recycled materials are becoming more mainstream. A dresser, console, table or other silhouette made of reclaimed wood will bear the evident markings of a material that’s been weathered naturally over time. Such products boast a one-of-a-kind attributes that appeal to certain furniture shopping segments, such as urban Gen X-ers.
Upholstery Cushions:
Petroleum has been used to make upholstery cushions for decades; today, there are greener options. Soy-based foam products are the reigning alternative, and Cargill’s BiOH® leads in the category. BiOH polyols, which are made from soybean oil, replace a portion of the petroleum-based ingredients used to manufacture foam for upholstered furniture.
Cushions made from 100 percent natural latex, which is made from the sap of a rubber tree with other natural fillers, are a more expensive alternative to soy. Natural latex foam is not as commonplace in upholstery cushions as mattresses, for example. But an environment-friendly foam cushion made with natural latex is biodegradable; it will break down into a recyclable material in months.
Fabrics:
Fabrics woven from organic cotton (grown without harmful pesticides) and bamboo are considered the greenest options for end-users. But the way they’re treated can render them harmful in an instant. Many fabric dyes and whitening agents contain toxic chemicals, plus commercialized chemical flame-retardants (used in synthetic foam) can be harmful, too. Check for non-toxic, low-impact, vegetable-based fabric dyes.
Leather:
Leather tanning is one of the least green processes in the manufacture of home furnishings—conventional tanning techniques include the use of chrome and other heavy metals. But a few suppliers have developed greener tanning processes by using natural tree and vegetable extracts. Danfield Inc., for instance, offers a product called Eco-Hides—an extract from sustainable, farm-bred Mimosa trees give this company’s hides their color and soft hand.
For additional reading, visit Green My Home. Plus, here are some links to green home furnishings manufacturers Web sites, some of which offer retail locator links:
Asian Art Imports http://www.asianartimports.com
Cisco Brothers http://www.ciscobrothers.com
Copeland Furniture http://www.copelandfurniture.com
Creative Elegance http://www.creativeelegance.com
Crescent Fine Furniture http://www.cresent.com/Sustainability.aspx
Eangee Home Design http://www.eangee.com
G. Romano http://www.gromano.com
Gat Creek http://www.gatcreek.com
Greenington http://www.greenington.com
Harden Furniture http://www.hardenfurniture.com
Home Trends & Design http://www.htddirect.com
Lorts http://www.lorts.com
Mountain Woods http://www.mountainwoodsfurniture.com
Nathan Anthony http://www.nafurniture.com
Phillips Collection http://www.phillipscollection.com
Q Collection http://www.qcollection.com
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