Modern furniture

People are more aware of the environment today than ever before. They want to know what materials are used in the furniture they buy - and where the materials come from.



What is the newest trend for contemporary modern furniture stores? The vast majority of them are green. No, they’re not jealous of what the other has in its store – they’re all eco‑friendly. These eco-minded stores carry products that are designed with the environment in mind. Their furnishings are made with reclaimed, recycled, renewable, whole body organic, and non-toxic materials. Bathroom showers, kitchen cabinets, living room floors: all can be made from sustianable or recycled materials

Most of these stores are located in California, Oregon, Colorado, and Washington State. Sure, eco‑friendly modern contemporary furniture stores are scattered throughout the United States – Michele Fitzpatrick’s Chicago showroom Verde[1] is known for its refurbished mid‑century modern pieces, and Brooklyn-based Vivavi[2] was named “one of the 50 most intriguing green businesses helping to drive the green revolution” by Inc. Magazine[3] – but, for the most part, these green stores are on the left side of the Missouri River.


Mid Century Modern Furniture - Tables from recycled wood

Eco-Friendly
Modern furniture designers of the past replaced decorative excesses like ruffles, tassels, and body carvings with form and function. While simple designs with practical advantages drove the modern furniture of yesteryear, simplicity and practicality have an added meaning for many of today’s modern furniture companies: furniture that simply makes practical use of the earth’s resources.

Treasured Chests - Antique Trunk Restoration, Yours or Ours

Eco-friendly modern dining room furniture stores are all about sustainability – referring to products that are made in an environmentally responsible way – and most are members of the Forest Stewardship Council.[4] The FSC is an international nonprofit organization that protects the world’s forests. Furniture stores who use FSC‑certified wood are assured that they are buying wood:

• That supports the ecological functions and the integrity of the forest


• That was obtained while respecting the rights and culture of aboriginal peoples


• That abides by the many other principles established by FSC[5]

FSC‑certified sustainable wood is the only wood that is accepted under the U.S. Green Building Council’s stringent LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program.

When buying furniture, “sustainable” can have many connotations. It can mean that the materials were organically grown or are from recycled or reclaimed stock. When it comes to wood products, it can mean that the wood was either harvested from a managed forest, rather than a rain forest, for example, or that it is a renewable material, like bamboo. Many eco-friendly products are available for furniture making. Other aspects green companies are considering are the types of dyes and paints that are used, the amount of energy that is expended in making the product, and the source of that energy.


Bathroom Vanity and Vessel Sinks made from recycled glass

Bamboo
Bamboo is a marvelous grass – it is not a tree – for making furniture and other home products. It is stronger than oak, and it will not shrink or swell (as hardwoods do). Bamboo can be transformed into ply boards with properties that measure up to conventional wood. Bamboo’s delicate grain gives wood products a distinctive, elegant appearance.


Bamboo Bathtub

Bamboo is grown without the use of pesticides and can grow two or more feet per day, reaching maturity (60 feet or more) in about 4 years, compared to the 25 to 70 years it takes for commercial trees to reach full growth. What’s more is that bamboo doesn’t have to be replanted. Unlike hardwood trees which are gone forever once they’re cut, bamboo’s renewable root system sends out shoots after each harvest.

For more information on bamboo and bamboo technology, see green furniture company EcoDesignz.com.[6]

Organic Cotton
Cotton that is grown in certified pesticide-free and herbicide-free soil is classified as organic cotton. The benefits of organic cotton are many:

• Healthier fabrics


• Preservation of water quality


• Toxin prevention

Fact: Traditional cotton-growing methods produce the second-most pesticide-laden crop in the world. Many of the chemicals used on traditionally farmed cotton crops are known carcinogens.

Hemp
Hemp is an ancient textile with a lot of versatility. Hemp fiber is the most durable and eco-sensible crop on the planet. It can be spun into threads for making rope, twine, and cords, and it can be woven into clothing, fabrics, and linens. An example of hemp furniture:


Hemp Furniture - Bed and Sheets

Hemp is grown without chemical pesticides or toxic fertilizers, and it produces more fiber yield per acre than any other crop. One acre of hemp can produce as much usable fiber as 4 acres of trees or two acres of cotton (and it is stronger than cotton). Many green furniture companies are using this fabric for many of their furniture fabrics.

Faux Leather
When it comes to animals, eco-friendly companies are just as friendly to animals as they are to the natural environment. Leather products are completely avoided and microfiber and faux leather substitutes (though pleather is not entirely free of controversy) are used instead.

Leather products are symptomatic of pollution and animal cruelty. U. S. factory farms are the biggest pollutant of American waterways, and animals are subjected to all types of cruelty (confinement, branding, tail docking, horn removal, hormone and antibiotic injections, repeated breeding).

Fact: To process ONE TON of leather, 15,000 gallons of water are needed. Also, the process produces more than ONE TON of solid waste.

Plywood
Plywood is an extremely efficient material. When using plywood, it takes just a half a tree to make the same number of desks that 4 ½ trees would make if using solid wood. Plywood yields 8-10 times more usable wood from a log versus solid lumber. Plywood furniture lasts longer than solid wood furniture.

Unlike solid wood furniture making, the process involved in making plywood is highly efficient. The log peeling process resembles that of a roll of paper towels coming off a roll. The waste is extremely minimal. For more details on plywood making, see Legare Furniture.com[7].

History of Modern Furniture – and Vinyl
From the beginning of its inception, modern office furniture was all about form and function. Circle, squares, and rectangles were tossed aside to make room for newer shapes: kidneys, ellipses, oblongs, flares, and S’s. Furniture was laid out in a way where it could serve more than one purpose. Darker colors were replaced by monochromes like gray and black. And bright colors were added for contrast: tangerine, turquoise, chartreuse, and ruby red. And to top it off, these new modular-sized pieces of furniture were made of new materials: clear acrylic, blonde plywood, or shiny chrome.

But where did all this come from? A combination of influences impacted the modernist design. A few of these influences were technology and the creative surge taking place amongst the artists and designers in the Art Nouveayu movement.

Modern furniture became popular shortly after World War II. American technology had advanced quickly during the war, particularly on the use of plastics. Vinyl-coated wire replaced rubber-insulated wire and was widely used aboard U.S. military ships. Plastics also became a large part of the aircraft production effort. When the war was over, vinyl manufacturers were going full throttle and quickly found new markets for their wartime inventions, one of which was the American home.

Bathroom showers: Modern bathroom furniture includes Steam shower enclosures with features since as inline water heaters to prevent you from wasting water while you wait for it to heat up. Dual flush toilets save water with every flush. According to Wasauna, a family of 4 can save up to 10,000 gallons of water per year.

Vinyl
Vinyl is a controversial material. Just because vinyl furnishings leave forests intact, vinyl is not necessarily an eco-friendly product. However, some rave that because vinyl is cost-effective and reusable (for example, some companies turn worn-out floor coverings into products like outdoor parking bumpers and industrial flooring), among many other benefits, that vinyl is a desirable product.[8] Proponents also point out that vinyl products last decades longer than anything else, but that is one of the problems – it never goes away and neither do the toxins.

Modern Excercise Equipment: Vibration Machines

Whole Body Vibration Platform

Environmental organizations like Mindfully.org caution against the use of plastics. Although vinyl is maintenance free – never needs painting, weatherproofing, or winter storage – and is lighter in weight than other alternatives, it does have a downside. Plastic is never truly recycled, and it is toxic and unhealthy for all living things. Plastics are made from polymers (which are made from various chemicals that are bound together through tremendous amounts of heat and pressure) and additives. The additives are toxic and don’t fully integrate into the plastic but instead reside between the molecules of plastic.

Paul Goettlich, in his website Mindfully.org, speaks out about the health and socioeconomic effects of technology and plastics, among other things. Goettlich is concerned about the lack of research being done on chemicals, such as those used in vinyl. “By purposefully avoiding meaningful studies, including those done at persistent extremely low levels of detection, the industry keeps us all in the dark. We are indeed living in the dark ages of science. The regulations and regulatory agencies are even worse.”[9] For a wide range of articles about plastics, go to Goettlich’s website.[10]

Where’s this green path going?
So where’s this green path headed. Hopefully through the rest of the country. With obvious footprints in the west and northwest, it’s only a matter of time before those footprints make a wellworn path east. Bedroom furniture and Danish modern furniture are helping lead the way.

The green furniture trend is growing. People are more conscious about the environment today. They want to know what materials are used in their furniture – and where those materials come from. And as the demand grows, green materials become more widely available. Materials that are available today weren’t available 10 years ago. While higher prices may have kept some furniture shoppers away in the past, that is all changing. Green furniture is more affordable – and attractive – than it ever was.

For a list of eco-friendly furniture companies, see Eco Mall.com[11] and fscus.org[12] - and keep surfing the web, as new ones arrive all the time.

Keep an eye out for future articles on this site about modern living room furniture, green bathroom remodeling, steam showers, and walk-in bathtubs.