Choose Eco-Friendly Home Furniture
Going green doesn’t have to mean an end to your decorating fetish, but you might need to shift your thinking a bit to accommodate a post-consumerism attitude and eco-friendly designs. Follow these tips to help you do what’s right for the earth while you choose what works for your sense of style when furniture shopping. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Buy bamboo flooring, furniture and window blind products. The grasses used contain no pesticides and are fast growing, so they replenish easily, causing little damage to the environment.
2. Look for furniture that is easily fixed and designed to be long lasting. These are less likely to end up clogging up a landfill and even if they cost more, they will last.
3. Buy wood products that are certified sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council.
4. Buy furniture that has been made out of recycled materials, such as wood from old homes, factories or resurrected products that were found at the bottom of riverbeds and lakes. The Rainforest Alilance’s Rediscovered Wood Certification label will identify many of these products as eco-friendly.
5. Use recycled plastic and metal whenever possible to help minimize the need for more production.
6. Buy furniture that has low-toxicity levels, and stay away from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and things that have been treated with formaldehyde and flame- retardants.
7. Shop for pre-owned furniture in antiques stores, vintage, consignment and second-hand shops.
8. Buy local if you can. This will not only support your area businesses, but you will help save the environment by minimizing shipping.
9. Pick up freebie furniture you find on recycling websites, or shop at garage sales.
10. Remake your old furniture to suit your new tastes. A fresh coat of paint or some new fabric can lend a new look to old stuff, and you won’t have to spend much or feel guilty for throwing out something just because you got tired of it.
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