Is Wooden Furniture Really Sustainable & Eco-Friendly?
Why is Wooden Furniture Eco-Friendly?
The push towards a sustainable future poses many questions. One material gets more lip service than any other when discussing sustainable materials for furniture building. Wood. This can be confusing, how does chopping down trees for furniture and cabinetry help the environment? I'll try my best to answer this in this blog post.
Renewable
Wood is a renewable resource. Sustainable forestry creates a supply of renewable wood, farmland is purchased, forests planted in stages and as sections are taken down for materials more are planted to replace them, creating a supply of renewable timber.
Carbon Capture
Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere reduces dangerous greenhouse gases that damages our climate change. Trees absorb enormous amounts of carbon from the environment and store it within its trunk and branches. This remains when the trees are cut and is locked into the wood and therefor stored within the wooden furniture. It will remain here throughout the life span of the furniture piece and eventually returned to the ground.
Real Wood Is Biodegradable
One of the major environmental concerns with many materials is their end of life. Wood is biodegradable. When a piece of wooden furniture has run its course and seen its final days, it is returned to the earth, to be broken down by eco-systems, keeping it from polluting the atmosphere. Other materials such as steel, glass and plastic can take hundreds to thousands of years to break down and degrade, with particles finding its way into water and food supplies.
Long-life Qualities
Wood is a powerful and durable material. Solid wooden furniture will outlive manmade materials many times over, mainly due to the ease at which it can be refurnished, enabling a well build furniture piece to live for generations.
How Do I Know My Wooden Furniture Is Sustainable?
You may want to do a little background check when choosing which wooden furniture to buy, here are some of the things you may want to look into.
FSC-Certified Wood
If the timber used is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), you know that is grown in a managed forest, ensuring that the wood taken is from a renewable source.
Reclaimed/Recycled Wood
Reclaiming wood from used furniture, old buildings and demolition yards reduces the need for new timber to be cut, also reducing the carbon footprint from a logistics and processing.
Local Non-Endangered Tree Species
Hunting wood locally and from non-endangered species helps reduce the impacts of logistics and encourages bio-diversity in our forests.
Environmentally Friendly Finishes
Some chemical products can be toxic and destructive, find a eco-friendly finish like natural oils or water-based varnishes.
Why Choose Wooden Furniture?
Wooden furniture never goes out of fashion, reducing the number of furniture purchases you will make in your life time and contributing to a sustainable home. Choosing a FSC certified supplier and eco-friendly finish will guarantee minimal environmental impact.
At DAB Chic & Vintage, we offer beautifully curated, eco-friendly wooden furniture that promotes with a greener future. All hand built at our Cheshire workshop. For more info contact our team!
