Office furniture manufacturer gives old equipment new life

What do you do with old office furniture? In the states, we have a magical website called Craig’s List. On Craig’s List you can sell or give anything away and someone will take it. Of course, the people who come knocking on your door may make you want to reconsider the whole landfill thing.
South Coast Office Furniture, a UK-based office furniture manufacturer, has created a not-for-profit recycling service for unused and unloved contract furniture. The company will pick up the items for free and list what they currently have on their website. This perfectly usable furniture is for businesses, charities, schools or anyone who needs the equipment.
According to the company, 500,000 tonnes of office furniture is being landfilled (new British slang, anyone? Anyone?) each year, the aim is to reuse and recycle it in large quantities.
Well done old chaps!

Own a piece of NYC

No, I’m not talking about the Brooklyn Bridge. New Yorkers and New Yorkers at heart now have an opportunity to own a piece of historic NYC. Made of New York furniture is constructed out of old Manhattan lumber using as few machines as possible. This eco-friendly furniture line rescues 19th century lumber and wood materials that would end up in a dump somewhere in Jersey. The geometric collection’s simple lines complement the charm of the old wood. Prices range from $200 to $1,200 and the collection can be found here.

Congress recognizes U.S. hardwoods as sustainable and preferable

The Hardwood Council has announced that Congress has given its stamp of approval to the U.S. hardwood industry and U.S. hardwood products with the passage of Senate Resolution 411 and House resolution 81. The resolutions recognize hardwood trees grown in the U.S. as an abundant, sustainable and legal resource. Dept. of Agriculture data show that U.S. hardwood inventory has more than doubled over the past 50 years. Also, U.S. hardwood growth exceeds hardwood removals by a margin of 1.9 to 1. Net annual growth has exceeded removals continuously since 1952.

Reclaimed, restored and reborn

I’ve always like the idea of using something you don’t need to make something else you want. Call it recycling, upcycling or green—I call it smart.
Old bowling alleys are disappearing all over the country, but what happens to the long, beautiful heartpine wood lanes? I’ve read articles of people salvaging the wood to make countertops, and frames but Counterevolution has taken it one step further. Craftsman, Jim Malone has created three contemporary fine furniture lines out of these old lanes. Modern Rustic and Industrial Green series feature tables, seating, kitchen and desks. The Buffalo Greens series includes wine racks, lazy susans, clocks and jewelry. Malone has also done some beautiful commercial installations.
Its furniture fit for a kingpin! Go green!!

Get in my belly!

Talk about temporary furniture—these chairs are made out of bread. I’m not sure how sturdy they are but they sure do look delicious.

Eco-friendly elegance rewarded

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry awarded Superior Woodcraft Inc. 2009 Contractor of the Year in the category Residential Interior Under $100,000.
The library is an exquisite blend of luxury and sustainability. The project used ESP-certified (KCMA Environmental Stewardship Program) custom cabinetry from plantation grown lyptus (a highly renewable hardwood), domestic core no-added urea formaldehyde plywood, rapidly renewable cork paneling, low VOC finishes, as well as products and processes recognized and approved by the Forest Stewardship Council.
This green modern media room has all the trappings of a traditional library including wainscot paneling, cabinetry, and a coffered ceiling, which seamlessly integrates with state-of-the-art media. The contest was judged by an independent panel of industry experts who looked at functionality, problem solving, aesthetics, craftsmanship, innovation and degree of difficulty.

Deep-seated eco silliness

Swiss artist and furniture designer Michel Bussien is an environmental matchmaker of sorts — his recent creation the “The Growing Chair” offers humans a reintroduction to nature.
A fast growing Willow tree and a Russian vine is planted into a chair-shaped plastic greenhouse. The Willow tree forms around the chair supporting the structure and the vine helps hold everything together.
When the flora outgrows its lush greenhouse, it can be snapped open and removed.
Awkward introductions aside, this living chair shows that environmentalists maybe have a sense of humor??!
According to the artist’s Nature Manifesto:
“… To move further we need to incorporate the living matter that surrounds us. Let us use the complexity of living nature and include it in our creations. These creations will then redefine the way we reconstruct nature. Only then will we truly move forward…”
Then again, maybe not.

A cure for chair butt?

Inspired by the playfulness of an orange peel, Varier Furniture is unleashing its Peel Club chair at NeoCon, June 15-17.
This chair is more than good looking—it’s a pleasurable experience for the body. Goodbye chair butt??! The organic shape allows users to vary their sitting position while lounging, reading, listening or plotting evil (my personal favorite).
The ergonomic chair has been wildly popular in the European contract market, selling more than 55,000 units in 10 months. To translate: If you don’t like this chair, then you’re not as sophisticated or cool as our chain-smoking, swatch car driving, and beret wearing brethren across the pond.
The Peel Club is made from 100 percent recycled materials and is available in eco-friendly wool and hundreds of color and fabric combinations.

An ode to breezy summer days

After working in the world of loveless high-volume manufacturing, New Zealand native Jolyon Yates wanted to create some soulful and distinctive low-volume furniture.
In 2008 he started ODE, a venture that specializes in one-off distinctive, eco-friendly furniture.
I especially love his Breeze or Savannah Rocker. Its flowing surfaces lead the eye on an easy journey into a slower era. The Breeze is sculpted from Birch Plywood and stands approximately 1,000 mm tall by 520 mm wide by 1,000 mm deep. It’s finished with a strong satin lacquer to draw out the subtle natural colors of the wood.

Pimp my outdoor space: Green edition

Vacations are so last year.
According to a recent survey, almost one-third of consumers are staying home during vacation time and 59 percent are cutting back on vacations. Enter the staycation, a fancy term for hanging out in your backyard. Many retailers are hoping staycations will translate into increased outdoor furniture sales.
To help cut through wooden outdoor furniture greenwashing claims, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) has released its third annual Garden Furniture Scorecard. The Scorecard catalogs 16 retailers selling Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified garden furniture at various price points.
Retailers such as Cost Plus World Market, Crate & Barrel, The Home Depot, Lowe’s and Pottery Barn all scored 4 stars or better, which means that more than 70 percent of their tropical wood garden furniture is from responsible sources. This is the largest group of retailers to attain a score of 4 stars or better.

According to the NWF, The U.S. is the world’s largest single importer of wooden furniture from tropical timber-producing countries, with garden furniture representing about one-fifth of the wooden furniture market. U.S. imports of all tropical wood products have increased four-fold over the past decade. As a result, the once biologically rich forests of countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil are being depleted at an unprecedented rate.
NWF plans to continue its annual surveys of major outdoor furniture retailers to track the progress of making FSC-certified products available to consumers.

Reduce, reuse, then what?

Furniture designer Hugh Hayden’s Tennis Ball Chair is as green as it gets. Instead of throwing out flat tennis balls, she turned them into a chair. It’s eye-catching and clever, but what do you do with the chair when it’s ready for the curb? I know this chair is art and would never get thrown out, but it does stop and make you think.

Can a recycled product be recycled again?

Flotation device or eco-chic chair?

Norwegian artist and furniture design student, Camilla Hounsell Halvorsen created an eco-friendly chair made out of recycled upholstery material and inner tubes.

Drop chairs have stainless steel legs with an inner tube covered with fabric. The seat is not permanently fixed to the under frame so it can be tilted by the user. The seat also can be removed from the frame and used as a cushion.
“The chair’s design has been inspired by the process behind making tassels. Drop introduces elements of childish delight and colorfulness into the user’s everyday life,” according to Halvorsen.
I just have one question: Can the chair’s cushion be used as a floatation device in the event of a water landing????

Fairfield Chair makes green strides

Fairfield Chair has completed the Enhancing Furniture’s Environmental Culture program for environmental management at its two upholstery plants and its Lenoir, N.C., headquarters, according to the American Home Furnishings Alliance.
Fairfield President Dick Posey said the program took more than a year to complete and during that time the company reduced its landfill tonnage by 28 percent, water use went down by 14 percent and kilowatts of electricity used was reduced by 5 percent.
EFEC stresses employee education, using environmentally friendly components and sustainable lumber.
Fairfield’s lumber is from sustainable U.S. forests, and plywood meets CARB requirements.