Having eco-friendly furniture is a good way to take better care of nature and help preserve earth's natural resources. You can buy different pieces for any part of your home, including your bedroom, dining room, and living room, but choosing the right ones can be challenging, especially if you want to make sure that the furniture is high-quality. Hence, here are tips that can help you choose the best pieces of eco-friendly furniture:
Reclaimed wood typically comes from old houses, furniture, and other wooden structures. If you are buying furniture that is made from this material, make sure that it bears the Rediscovered Wood Certification label.
- Find out what the pieces are made of – The first step to choosing the best eco-friendly furniture is to determine the materials that were used for it. If you are buying wooden pieces, make sure that they are made of certified sustainable wood. This means that the material must come from sustainably harvested forests or tree farms or must be reclaimed wood. FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is the standard of certification that promotes excellent working conditions and controls clear-cutting.
Reclaimed wood typically comes from old houses, furniture, and other wooden structures. If you are buying furniture that is made from this material, make sure that it bears the Rediscovered Wood Certification label.
- Consider bamboo furniture - Some of the best eco-friendly furniture are made of bamboo. Though it is a grass, it is incredibly versatile, robust, and highly sustainable. Just make sure that the material is grown naturally without any pesticides and chemicals.
- Make sure it is non-toxic – Conventionally manufactured pieces of furniture can contain harmful and toxic chemicals that can off-gas and enter your body via inhalation or through your skin, causing a variety of chronic health problems, including cancer. Hence, make sure you are buying eco-friendly furniture that is not treated with flame retardants and any other chemicals. Look for furniture that is treated with natural substances, such as naturally tanned leather and natural wood finishes. Organic cotton is untreated, too.
- Buy from the right store – Be sure to buy eco-friendly furniture only from a reputable and experienced store that is known to sell high-quality environmentally friendly pieces for decades. Look for a store that bears the E1 Toxic Off Gassing certification and the Sustainable Forest Management certificate.