Sustainability - A Big Word For A Big Subject

Having cajoled you yesterday in to parting with 2.75 so that the Woodland Trust can

plant a tree in your name, we thought it might be an idea to look into this sustainability thing in a bit more detail. Sustainable means 'capable of being maintained at a steady level without exhausting natural resources or causing severe ecological damage'. As we implied in the headline, this topic is a vast subject. In relation to the furniture business, it means a bit more than the simplistic ethos of planting one new tree, or more, for every tree that's cut down for use.

Manufacturers are aware that there are many factors that contribute to the environmental burden associated with a particular item of furniture. It's incumbent upon them to produce furniture that meets our needs, without affecting the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

For instance, we're having to come to terms with the fact that, whereas traditional furniture was based on solid timber like beech, oak and tropical hardwoods, much modern furniture uses board material such as chipboard or medium density fibreboard (MDF). Chipboard may be sneered upon for furniture use, but it is typically composed of recycled fibre, such as old pallets that have come to the end of their first useful life. So it's an environmentally beneficial material that makes use of wood waste that might otherwise go to landfill.

But it's not just the source of the material that is important. Another consideration is how efficiently it has been used by the manufacturer. Whether they waste 20% or 50% of the incoming raw material is a major contributor to the overall environmental effect of the product. We also have to consider how long an item will last. The average longevity of domestic furniture is falling, particularly if you take into account the fickle whims of fashion trends. If you have to replace a suite every three years instead of every nine, the environmental burden could be tripled. Manufacturers should also be designing items for remanufacture. When the time comes for you to dispose of furniture, consideration should have been given to how easy it is to dismantle, so that components can be reused, returned to the manufacturer, or refurbished.

A company called BFM is currently working on a DTI-sponsored feasibility study to move towards zero emissions from furniture. It's a fascinating challenge, and all part of nurturing global resources for the next generation.

by: Richard Johnson

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