8 Eco Furniture Buying Tips

Sometimes our desires to live an eco-friendly life can be difficult when it comes to wanting to spruce up our homes. If you've got kids, pets or other loved ones in your home then you want to make sure new furniture you are purchasing is safe. But what does "eco-friendly furniture" even mean? Well, the answer is a lot of different things. We've gathered a quick list of ways in which furniture can be eco-friendly and what you can look for when you're about to add to your furniture collection. Because there are so many different elements that can make a furniture piece eco-friendly, you'll want to decide what the most important factors for your family are:

Choose only certified wood
Look for pieces built with wood that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (also known as FSC). That will mean that the wood came from a forest where it was harvested with strong environmental, social, and economic performance standards.

Go for bamboo
Bamboo is fast growing and often doesn't require pesticides.

Look for reclaimed or recycled materials
Reclaimed materials can be wood, metal, even some plastics. You can find a lot of stylish-looking furniture made out of materials that used to be something else!

Buy vintage
Buying vintage can be eco-friendly because no new materials or energy went into creating it! Just make sure the original material it is made out of isn't toxic to begin with. Bear in mind that furniture made before the year 1978 could contain lead-based paint or finishes.

Choose recyclable materials
Materials like metal and glass can often be used from recycled materials or eventually recycled themselves.

Buy from local sources
Choosing furniture that's been created by local manufacturers can be eco-friendly since it doesn't have to travel long distances to get to you.

Stay away from VOC's
You have to worry about stains, glues, paints and other finishes, which can contain toxic chemicals that off-gas into your indoor air. Go with paints and stains that are water-based, and look for finishes that say low or no VOC.

Use what you have
Perhaps the most eco-friendly furniture option is to not acquire anything new at all, and work on redecorating with pieces you already have by rearranging, refinishing or revamping. Stay tuned next week for part two in our eco-friendly furniture series, where we'll share some of our favorite eco-friendly furniture companies. And tell us what the most important eco-elements that you look for when buying furniture are.