The Importance of Long Lasting Furniture

I've been thinking about the issue of carbon capture in connection with furniture recently, and it seems to be something that even some environmentally conscious people seem to forget about.

Good quality furniture, built specifically to last is so much more environmentally friendly than anything else, and here are the reasons why.

Materials like chipboard are environmentally friendly in one respect, in that they recycle waste materials into something practical, and used in the right context can be great for the environment. On the other hand, some of the furniture built using these materials isn't built to quality or to last. The same goes for some solid wood furniture which is made from clear cut forests which are then sometimes badly seasoned or machined. These woods, cut from suspect sources ruin the local environment and the atmosphere. Customers then encounter problems and the replacement of these items is inevitable.

And that is where I have an issue with these materials and lower quality furniture, for while chipboard is made from "waste material" and therefore "reclaimed" to some extent, it's also hugely disposable because furniture made from it is often of such low quality, it's thrown away after a few years. The same goes for the solid wood furniture with a high failure rate, and in this case, it's even worse, since the wood gathered for it is straight from the rainforest, and effectively goes straight from a tree onto the junk pile.

Upon disposal of any piece of furniture, the carbon is released from the wood into the atmosphere.

Good quality furniture, built to last, captures carbon for the longest time possible. The wood is seasoned correctly, made into furniture which should last for at least a lifetime, and provided it's cherished and not thrown away, the carbon from that tree remains captured for as long as the wood doesn't rot or get burnt.

So, surely one helping hand in the quest for mankind to capture more carbon is to build high quality furniture from sustainable sources, since rotting or burning trees release more carbon, and not investing in quality, or investing in something which will be thrown away in two years means we all end up with a ruined environment.

If you'd like to see our website, please visit warlinghamfurniture.co.uk, contact us by phone 01883 626 629, you can see us on Facebook (as Warlingham Furniture),  or visit the shop here at 414 Limpsfield Road, we'd always be happy to chat or help you with anything.