It is generally acknowledged by producers, merchants, and customers alike that defining sustainability can be challenging. Is it founded on products, methods, internal rules, or something else?
It’s all of the above, as well as a chance to tell a compelling product story, according to Scarlette Tapp, executive director of the Sustainable Furnishings Council.
“Sustainability is a term that has more teeth than ‘green’ or ‘eco-friendly,'” Tapp said. “SFC defines sustainable furniture as being good for the environment and the home. But more specifically, we consider sustainability in the home furnishings industry as manufacturing, selling, buying and specifying pieces that pose minimal adverse harm to the planet and are made with little-to-no-known toxic chemicals that pose health risks to workers and consumers.”
Sharing the Message
Tapp added that, like comfort, durability, and versatility, sustainability is a selling point. She noted that customers are paying attention and that furniture merchants are responding to the rise in demand for more environmentally friendly options, which affect the value of furniture.
“Retailers want to appeal to the customers’ value of their family’s health and their furniture choices’ impact on the environment,” Tapp said. “Sharing that sustainable furniture will have a longer life, will be made with materials that do not harm the environment (for example, made with responsibly sourced wood lessens carbon footprint) and will not bring toxins into the home is the best way to tell the story.
“Furthermore, environmentally conscious furniture buyers understood that cheap “fast furniture” was simply not worth the risk of being exposed to toxic chemicals that could make them sick, and that it would eventually fall apart and end up in a landfill.”
Through the Wood Furniture Scorecard, the SFC collaborates with the National Wildlife Federation to support retailers in sharing their sustainability advancements. Together, SFC and NWF assess all sizes of furniture retailers’ wood-sourcing practices.
SFC and NWF encourage retailers to publicly declare and carry out responsible wood-sourcing policies and provide retailers with opportunities for best practices education. When businesses and consumers buy and sell FSC-certified or reclaimed wood products, these policies ultimately translate into protecting forests.
Happening in 2023
The Sustainable Furnishings Council is also concerned about recent state legislation that could eventually have an impact on the entire home furnishings industry.
“A lot of important legislation is happening on the state level,” Tapp said. “For instance, the PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) category of toxic chemicals, which is linked to a number of medical conditions and is frequently found in furniture, is being addressed in California, New York, and Maine. Nationwide, the EPA is conducting “virtual listening tours” in localities all over the country. to learn about the impact of PFAS.
“‘What’s It Made Of?’ project is a collaboration between SFC, The New School, The Healthy Materials Lab at Parsons, the American Sustainable Business Network, and the Center for Environmental Health.’ initiative, which helps the industry identify the ‘Harmful Handful’ of chemicals to avoid and dig deeper into supply chains,” she continued. “Making better manufacturing decisions depends on knowing where these chemicals—flame retardants, VOCs, vinyl, fluorinated stain treatments, and antimicrobials—may be hiding. This initiative will be broadened by SFC, giving our members more resources to understand the actual materials that go into making their furniture.”
According to Tapp, the SFC will broaden its offerings in 2023 to include a new, more interactive website and learning center.
“Our 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is now poised to be a home furnishings-specific hub of sustainable learning (CEUs, webinars and peer-to-peer learning opportunities) with tools to help our industry create real impact,” she said. “By encouraging our stakeholders, including manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, and designers, to adopt more environmentally friendly practices, SFC as a coalition can significantly impact industry change.”
