How to Go Green: Living Room Furniture

With problems like global warming and excessive pollution plaguing the world we live in today, we need to start changing the way we live to prevent their growth. One of the best ways is to invest in some eco-friendly furniture. What is eco-friendly living room furniture, though? Eco-friendly, also known as environment friendly, refers to the processes that have minimal damage on the environment relative to other methods. Purchasing green, or eco-friendly furniture, means that they built it using processes that won't damage the environment, guaranteed by the eco-friendly label which is often attached. On the other hand, purchasing plastics, for example, can cause harm to the environment, rendering it as something you wouldn't necessarily want in your house unless you definitely need it. So, you're ready to make the change to eco-friendly living room furniture? Great. Here's where to start:

Bamboo
Contrary to popular belief, bamboo is a grass, and one that grows incredibly fast too. It is sturdy, abundant, and can grow even during the most adverse conditions. What's great about bamboo for going green is that you don't have to kill trees, which you would do buy purchasing wood, to have it in your house. Using less wood is a good thing because this means less deforestation around the world. Less deforestation means more trees which can do their job: eat up carbon dioxide, a main killer of out atmosphere, and release more oxygen. Bamboo is a great alternative to wood, and unlike what you'd expect, fashionable too!

Limit the Offgassing Furniture
Everything that is manufactured tends to offgas, meaning it releases chemicals into the air. While some of these chemicals aren't harmful and have useful purposes, like flame retardants, some can be dangerous to both you and the environment. The smell right after purchasing fresh furniture or a new car is offgas. To make sure that you don't buy furniture that releases chemical offgasses, look for the Greenguard certification label on the furniture you end up purchasing.

Recyclables
You want to stick to furniture that can be disassembled easily so that the respective parts can be recycled individually. While there are several certifications of recyclable furniture, like MBDC's Cradle to Cradle or CPA's Corrugated Recycles, you can often tell what is more recyclable just by looking at it. Something welded together and intricately designed will not be as simple to disassemble as something stuck together by parts. In this way, look for easily disassembled recyclable furniture in your quest to go green.

Durable Furniture
The more pieces of furniture you buy and throw away, either because they break or you don't like them anymore, the more you are damaging the environment. More energy will be required to destroy the furniture or repair it. For example, when I bought a new wooden chair for a my living room, I looked for the most durable material. This way, I won't have to spend more money and damage the environment even more because I won't be looking for a new wooden chair any time soon. Either way, it's best to stick with durable furniture that won't need to be tended to within a short period of time. Look for furniture made of durable materials to make sure less energy is used repairing your things and hurting the environment.

Source:
Team Treehugger, Top Green Furntiure Tips." Planet Green.