Green Furniture Makers

In all forms of products, being green is something more and more consumers are looking or in their products. From green cars, to usage of environmentally friendly recycled paper.

A newly formed group of furniture manufacturers are using the trend to help the furniture industry get green and lessen its environmental impact. This week in the GreenStyle Pavilion at Market Square, they’re promoting their ideas at the High Point Market .

“I think that the green building (movement) has been a big drive of green furniture,” said Daphne Hewitt, a spokeswoman for the Rainforest Alliance.

In terms of marketing it is simple. If people are going out of their way to make their homes more environmentally friendly, i.e. by using efficient materials and objects such as light bulbs in their house, they’re going to want the same from their furniture.

Hewitt’s organization is a co-founder of the newly established Sustainable Furniture Council. The nonprofit council was created to promote sustainable practices within the home furnishings industry.

The council hopes to give manufacturers the information to help them change their ways, said Susan Inglis, the council’s executive director.

The council now numbers more than 40 paying members, Inglis said. Each of which must be committed to sustainability and demonstrating that within their business. Cooklin understands that being eco-friendly and sustainable is a gradual process, but the payoff can be huge. There are very large financial gains to be made.

“Sustainability, if it’s just used as a marketing tool, doesn’t get you much,” said Bill Perdue, vice president of environmental, safety and health standards for the American Home Furnishings Alliance.

Perdue runs the AHFA’s Enhancing Furniture’s Environmental Culture program, which helps companies develop and maintain environmentally friendly practices. He comments that not just thee final product but the process of making the product should be sustainable.

“You don’t stop environmental impact at the finished product, you stop it at the source,” Perdue said. Stanley Furniture Co., a Virginia-based manufacturer, is Perdue’s model for a company that pushes itself to be sustainable. Dave Maddox, Stanley’s director of engineering, said the company decided several years ago to work to protect the environment.

Stanley Furniture reduced fuel consumption by 20% at one plant, whilst at another plant a recycling program cut wastes by 56% between 2000 to 2005.

By getting rid of such waste, all companies, not just furniture manufacturers, can not only help the environment, but also save money.