Organic Sustainable Furniture

Defining Terms

What is organic sustainable furniture? There are really two different terms involved here, one of which has a specific definition, while the other is more elusive.

Organic generally means that an item, whether it's a carrot or a couch, has been produced without the use of man-made chemicals. That means that any fabric or stuffing used to make a piece of furniture was made with fibers grown without the use of chemical herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers. Additionally, the production of the piece itself did not add chemical flame retardants or other chemicals to the mix.

Sustainable is a little more difficult to define. It is typically used to mean that products are produced with the future health of the planet and the people on it in mind. Sustainability has to do with environmental impact as well as economic and social impact.

It is common to hear bamboo referred to as sustainable because the plant grows back so quickly after being harvested. But, bamboo is not the only sustainable material out there. Many products are defined as sustainable if they are produced with recycled or reclaimed materials, as well as non-toxic items that are considered eco-friendly.

Finding Organic Sustainable Furniture

It's not likely that you will be able to find a lot of organic furniture in your local furniture stores, unless you live in a big city or somewhere where there happens to be a market for sustainable furniture.

That said, there are a number of Internet retailers who offer organic sustainable furniture. Here are a few retailers to look at when you're looking for furniture for your home:

• Vivavi features modern designs made from eco-friendly and sustainable materials, including reclaimed wood, recycled rubber and seatbelts.
• DownBound sells all sorts of organic and sustainable home products, including wooden beds and changing tables and children's tables and chairs.
• Loll Designs offers sustainable outdoor furniture made of recycled plastic. These items wouldn't be considered organic, but they do contribute to less garbage making it into the landfills.
• Pristine Planet is a comparison shopping website that allows you to find the best price for items such as organic bedroom furniture or safe paints.
• Green Sage features organic and sustainably produced furniture and mattresses. Wood comes from sustainably managed wood sources, while fabrics are organic.

Being a Smart Shopper

As you can see from this handful of shops, there are a lot of different definitions of what counts as sustainable that may not intersect with your ideas about organic products.

You have to decide what your values are and what is most important to you when you are buying furniture, or any other product for that matter. Perhaps you don't mind if a product is not organic as long as it is made from reclaimed products that otherwise would have ended up in the landfill.

If buying 100 percent organic products is the most important thing to you, it is certainly possible to find organic furniture that is produced entirely from natural products. However, there are other ways to help the planet that are also sustainable.

The key to shopping for such furniture is to be a smart consumer. Know what your values are when it comes to buying furniture and make sure that the products you are looking at meet your needs, both in terms of style and what your priorities are in terms of buying products that are in line with your values.