What To Consider When Buying Sustainable Furniture

Have you wondered what to consider when buying sustainable furniture? There are a lot of different things you need to think about when you’re choosing a furniture item for your home.

I recently decided to downsize some furniture in my home and upcycle my current furniture and give it a new look. It was a job that I’d been putting off for a while.. perhaps you relate?

While I’ve been researching and looking for items that I wanted, it really made me think about how I could do this process in the most sustainable way.

It’s not always easy to determine if the furniture you choose is actually a good sustainable choice. I’ll go through everything you need to be aware of below.

This post contains affiliate links which means I make a small profit if you buy through my link. I would never recommend something I didn’t believe in or wouldn’t buy myself, thank you for your support.

Have You Heard Of Fast Furniture

Have you heard of fast furniture? It’s a term that I wasn’t aware of but I saw a post from Milla in the sustainable community on Instagram and it inspired me to share everything that I’ve learned recently and recommend where to buy sustainable furniture to help you out.

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A post shared by 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 (@millakozak)

In Milla’s post which you can view above, she explains that Fast Furniture is furniture that is made to last only a short amount of time, usually only a few years.

Each year Americans throw out more than 12 million tonnes of furniture, creating mountains of solid waste that have grown 450% since 1970.

It’s estimated that in the UK 7 million mattresses alone are sent to the landfill every single year! Isn’t that crazy..

The main problem with fast furniture is the materials that it’s made from. When you think about Ikea furniture, there’s a lot of flimsy chipboard (particleboard) used. It’s normally coated in plastic and if it gets a chip or something in it – there’s no easy way to fix it up.

With solid wooden furniture you can normally sand any marks and stains that occur over time and/or use some paint or varnish to make it look fresh and new again.

There also isn’t really anywhere you can take the modern furniture to get it fixed and therefore people just end up taking it to the landfill and buying more.

Just like with fast fashion, fast furniture is not made to last and most of the processes used to create the furniture is bad for our planet.

If you’re looking to quit fast fashion, I’ve written a full post on how to quit fast fashion to help you out.

What To Consider When Buying Sustainable Furniture

There are some main things that you can look for when you’re trying to source sustainable furniture.

What Is It Made From

First of all, when you’re looking for furniture. The material matters a lot. Avoid plastic and synthetic materials. Particularly if you’re buying new. Items that are made from solid plastic or synthetic materials are going to have the biggest carbon footprint.

This is before you consider transportation because production will be the part that produces the most carbon emissions.

Look for furniture items that are made from recycled materials. Some of the sustainable brands that I mention below, consider sustainability in all parts of their processes and some even use materials which would otherwise be wasted.

Check if the wood is sustainably sourced and FSC certified. Fast furniture is unlikely to contain wood from a sustainable source and that is usually part of the reason it’s incredibly cheap to buy.

Greenwashing

Be aware of greenwashing when you’re looking for furniture. Just because it states that it’s eco friendly or sustainable furniture, doesn’t mean it actually is.

Companies that have nothing to hide will usually enclose a sustainability report or further information on their website.

Check if it’s FSC certified, or Fairtrade or a B Corporation. FSC is Forest Stewardship Council which protects forests in the UK, Fairtrade certified ensures the materials are fairly traded and B Corporation is people and planet before profit.

Before you purchase an item, make sure that you check the brand thoroughly and be wary of certifications that you haven’t heard of before.

Transportation

Although transportation isn’t normally as bad as materials, it’s still worth mentioning.

For example, if you buy furniture that is shipped from another Country, it’s going to have a much bigger carbon footprint than furniture which has been made and then distributed in your own country.

Consider looking at smaller independent brands in your local area. Sometimes they source materials from the local area and if they offer delivery, it doesn’t have to travel as far to get to you.

Mass produced furniture sent to furniture chains, might have a huge carbon footprint from transportation so definitely consider this before you buy your next piece of furniture.

Where To Buy Sustainable Furniture

Next let’s look at places to buy sustainable furniture in the UK.

• Etsy – Unique pieces and Etsy offset carbon from deliveries
• Habbio – Sustainable sofa company
• Sustainable Furniture – Reclaimed wood furniture
• Sustainable Furniture London – Reclaimed wood furniture
• Adventures in Furniture – Contemporary sustainable furniture
• Tikamoon – Sustainable FSC wood
• Natural Mat – Sustainable and natural mattresses and beds
• Benchmark – Bespoke and sustainable furniture

Now I’ll include where to buy sustainable furniture in the US.

• Etsy – Unique pieces and Etsy offset carbon from deliveries
• Maiden Home – Handcrafted and responsibly sourced
• West Elm – FSC furniture and Fairtrade
• Sabai Design – Sustainable furniture made to order
• Inside Weather – Made to order and carbon negative
• Avocado – Sustainable mattresses B Corporation, 1% for the planet and climate neutral
• Made Trade – Sustainable and ethical marketplace

Where To Buy Used Furniture

I will admit that buying used furniture does take a bit more patience, especially if you are looking for a certain item like a sofa in a particular style or colour.

However, it is the most cost effective way of buying furniture for the home.

If you’re willing and able to spend a bit more money, you can also get furniture in amazing condition.

There’s so many reasons why people end up selling their furniture. They could have downsized and no longer have room or they could have replaced it with a larger piece of furniture.

Buying used is great if you’re on a budget.

Some of the best places to get used furniture:

• Facebook Marketplace
• Ebay (just change the filter to the area you’re willing to travel)
• Gumtree
• Freecycle
• Olio app
• Charity shops
• Used furniture stores

Other Things To Consider

There are some other things to consider when you’re choosing sustainable furniture.

Look for solid wooden furniture if you can. If you’re not a fan of natural wooden furniture, you can always paint it to match your decor.

Wooden furniture is much easier to fix and will generally last years if you take care of it properly.

It’s personal preference of course but I just like the look of wooden furniture in the home, I just think it makes the home look much more cosy than the flatpack furniture.

I’m terrible for this but make sure that you check regularly if the screws are tight and drawers are functioning properly. Screws and bolts can get loose over time and checking regularly helps prevent any damage to the furniture.

If you have children or pets, consider using covers for sofas and mattress protectors on beds. It will be much easier to sell this furniture on in the future if you need to.

Upcycling Furniture

I know that upcycling furniture is not for everyone but it is a great way of sprucing up furniture, particularly if you’ve picked something up secondhand.

Admittedly, I’m not a pro at upcycling but I do get better each time that I do it. I have a lot of pine furniture in my house because it’s the cheapest solid style furniture that you can get secondhand. My mission for this year is to sand all of my furniture and varnish it so that’s cohesive but also protected.

If you take the time to sand your furniture down and then protect it with some paint/varnish – it will make your furniture look like it’s new and it’ll save you a lot of money in the long term.

I’ve noticed that a lot of people sell and giveaway a lot of furniture as upcycling projects. Not only will it save you money because you’re not buying new, it’s also a great way of getting a beautiful piece of furniture.

What To Do With Your Old Furniture

I know that even if you’re making sustainable choices when you shop, sometimes you will still have old furniture that you then need to get rid of.

Some places that you can list your furniture to be sold:

• Facebook Marketplace
• Ebay (list as collection only unless you’re willing to arrange a carrier)
• Preloved
• Depop
• Vinted

If you would like to give away your furniture:

• Facebook Marketplace
• Freecycle
• Gumtree
• Olio app

If your furniture is in good condition, British Heart Foundation also take furniture items to be resold and they arrange collection.

If your furniture is not in very good condition, it is a bit more difficult to get rid of. You can take this to your local recycling centre as a last resort. If you can’t get to a recycling centre yourself, you can also arrange for your local council to collect the furniture. In my area the cost was about £68 to get a large item collected from the home.

That’s about it.. I think I’ve covered what to consider when buying sustainable furniture and options for a variety of budgets. Let me know in the comments if you buy sustainable furniture or if you’re considering it.

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