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International Home Furnishings Market: Eco-Friendly Furniture

Posted by Caren – October 5, 2007 10:38 AM
Tags: eco-friendly, furniture, green, high point furniture, infm

Guest Blogger: Design Happens Guest Blogger: Jennifer Sergent, editor-in-chief, HGTV Ideas magazine

Caren's note: No trees were chopped in the making of this blog.

Green is the biggest buzz word in design these days, and the furniture industry is no stranger to the trend. So many furniture makers are introducing lines of green furniture that the International Home Furnishings Market in High Point, N.C., now has an EcoStyle Pavilion to show them all in one place. What is green, or eco-friendly, furniture? It uses wood is certified to have come from sustainable forests. It has non-toxic finishes. The foam inside the cushions is made from recycled materials, and the foam is then wrapped in 100 percent cotton. The textiles used for the upholstery are organic and chemical free. And here's the thing — it's all pretty darned good looking!

Here's a tour of the newest green furniture. If you buy it, you not only have good taste — you're also being a good citizen.

Aura (top) and Summerlin sofas from Rowe Furniture
Rowe Furniture launched its Eco-Rowe collection this week, with 21 new natural-fiber upholstery fabrics, bringing its line of eco-friendly fabrics to 137 options. The cushions on its new Aura and Summerlin sofas are filled with recycled fiber — in addition to natural duck feathers and down — and are wrapped in 100 percent cotton ticking. The wood frames are made from domestic lumber cut from sustainable forests.

Copeland Furniture Taliesin Barrel Chair

Copeland Furniture, a Vermont company known for its natural hardwood furniture, has stamped the signature Taliesin Barrel Chair from its Frank Lloyd Wright collection with the Forest Stewardship Council's logo, meaning the all-cherry frame comes from an inspected forest that is "well managed according to strict environmental, social and economic standards."

Bernhardt's Cascade collection was produced from plantation-grown rubberwood, with walnut veneers from sustainable U.S. suppliers. The center door of the display curio is covered with pressed rubbertree leaves under glass. The unusual buffet looks cut directly from nature, and has ample storage for silver, wine and china.

C.R. Laine Potomac Sofa, Meurice Sofa and Meurice chair

Top to bottom: Potomac Sofa, Meurice Sofa and Meurice chair
C.R. Laine introduced a "down2earth" upholstery line, in which cushions are filled with fibers spun from recycled plastic drink bottles. The fabrics are 100 percent natural fibers such as linen and cotton. The wood frames are certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and the springs are made from 50 percent recycled metal.

Palecek has always been known for furniture made from natural, sustainable materials such as rattan and plantation-grown hardwood. They are also involved in a reforestation project in the Phillipines, helping to plant more than a million trees over the last 15 years. Palecek introduced six green fabrics this week, made from hemp, bamboo, linen and cotton. The Woodland Collection features taupe organic hopsack on the chairs and hemp on the sofa. The wall panel is carved from plantation hardwood.

Left to right: Coffee table and retreat console from Charleston Forge
Recycling is big at Charleston Forge, and its limited edition pieces this fall have great pedigree. The forge is offering just 100 coffee tables made with old wrought iron window guards removed from the Roanoke, Va., Veterans Administration Hospital in 1940. Its retreat console, meanwhile, was made with cedar boards rescued from the demolition of an old lake house, and there are also just 100 available. Grab these pieces of history while you can!

Left to right: Harden Furniture console, sofa and chair
"We were green before green was cool," is the new slogan at Harden Furniture, where fifth-generation Hardens run the company that uses lumber from its own forest in upstate New York. Its forests are certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. Harden's new green upholstery line includes a striped fabric made from post-consumer plastics and recycled cotton; 100 percent cotton with no chemical finishes; and leather made from natural, recyclable dyes.

Next: Candice Olson's "3 C's" collection for Norwalk Furniture

Comments

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You haven't been able to buy any furniture like this in years! and especially in Ohio. Furniture finally has style, class and the size is normal. I thought I would die if I say one more over-sized piece of furniture. Please let this all come to the everyday person. I want to buy a furniture that is all together and delivered to by house in one piece not in a box with 4 screws missing. Please bring this type of furniture back to the market place

Posted by Penny – October 8, 2007 10:23 AM

THIS FURNITURE IS 'FINNALY' COMMING BACK.I REMEMBER MY G-MA'S BARREL CHAIRS,BEAUTIFUL AND STILL WORKING.IT WOULD BE NICE TO FIND A BOOK ON THE TYPE OF FURNITURE.SORRY ABOUT THE LARGE LETTERS,I HAVE M.S. AND IT'S HARD TO SEE...LINDA

Posted by LINDA – October 17, 2007 1:31 AM

really sustinable furniture is www.urbanwoods.net

Posted by trevor – December 1, 2007 3:13 AM

Although the furniture listed above has some attributes of being green, other companies such as Viesso, Furnature, and Cisco Brothers have gone the extra mile. The companies above are still using polyurethane for their foam which contains flame retardants. (Some use part soy and poly) The companies I mentioned are using natural latex rubber and organic wool to eliminate the need to use flame retardants. In addition, are any of the above are using low toxic stain and sealers too like the companies I mentioned? Last time I checked Harden was not although they have been using FSC wood for a long time. Perhaps this has changed.

Also, the use of natural cotton is not green since the amount of pesticides used in producing the cotton. Again there are companies out there who are using organic cotton too.

One company who is absent from your list is LEE, who is very environmental. With the exception of flame retardants in their cushions, they follow your green standards.

I commend all of the above companies for their efforts but I am not sure all the companies that were listed are following HGTV's green standards as listed in your first paragraph. This is okay as long as it was noted for each company.

Thanks for this post since I did not know about Rowe. Anna Hackman www.green-talk.com

Posted by Anna – February 27, 2008 10:01 PM

Wonderful. I have been looking for a line environmentaly friendly home furnishings to add to my office furniture business. I have noticed a major shift in facility managers purchasing furniture made from natural, sustainable materials. The greening of the office is a major trend. If you have any contact information for these manufacturers please let me know.

Posted by Cheryl's Desk – March 1, 2008 11:15 AM

Fascinating how everyone seems to be jumping on the Green bandwagon. Even those offering green products that are less than 10% of their line. I have been manufacturing a line of furniture from recycled hem fir for over 15 years. The previous 5 years I was importing recycled pine furniture that I had made in Ireland. Antiques and my furniture line represent over 90% of my inventory. That, I think entitles me to say that I make eco friendly furniture.

Posted by Terrence burke – March 9, 2008 6:32 PM

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Don't let bad design happen to your home! Caren Baginski, HGTV.com's decorating editor, discovers inspiration to help you on your way to design victory. E-mail me Take the Design Pledge

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