Recycled material used to make furniture that’s eco-friendly
Atable is just a table to some, but to others it is a symbol of the future health of the planet and humans in general. From the woven rug on the cement slab to the stylish Adirondack chair on the patio, going green outside is easier than ever as consumers push for more environmentally friendly outdoor furniture.
A recent Nielsen report, “Doing Well by Doing Good,” surveyed 30,000 consumers in 60 countries on their penchant for purchasing environmentally friendly furniture. More than half of the respondents preferred to pay extra for products and services from companies committed to a positive social and environmental impact. Millennials led the pack, going the extra mile to ensure products were green and local.
Sustainable, or green, furniture uses recycled materials as a base, but also considers the impact that manufacturing processes and the shipping involved
▲ in getting that perfect piece to your patio will have on the environment. Manufacturers, designers and users of sustainable furniture strive to create pieces that have a low environmental impact at the front end and can then be recycled after its useful life has passed.
Making environmentally savvy choices for your outdoor space has become a hot topic in the furniture market as consumers continue to clamor for more green options, said Susan Inglis, executive director of the Sustainable Furnishings Council in North Carolina, an educational organization that assists consumers and professional buyers who seek eco-friendly products for their homes.
“Two excellent examples in outdoor (sustainable furniture) trends are recycled plastic milk jugs made into chairs and recycled aluminum made into chairs, tables, etcetera,” she said.
Taking materials out of the waste stream and moving them into the industrial feed stream is a very important trend for the future, Inglis said.
“Our research shows that people are worried in fairly equal measure about all the many issues that fall under the wide sustainability umbrella, (such as) the climate crisis, depletion of natural resources, toxic waste pollution and toxins in our indoor environments,” she said.
More and more people are personally affected by environmental problems, Inglis said. Global warming and climate change bring the issue to consumers’ front door, making them aware of their personal responsibility in protecting the environment. That concern is reflected in their furniture buying choices.
“For instance, as extreme weather events hit their area they experience the misery and the expense firsthand, or as someone in their family is sickened by pollution, they realize that expense themselves,” she said. “These things are
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