From Materials To Manufacturing - How Designer Furniture Embraces Sustainability

There’s no doubt that we need to look after our planet. Sustainability is one of the hallmarks of luxury furniture, a trait that is essential to producing high quality designer furniture as well as keeping our forests healthy. In this article, we'll take a look at how sustainability in the design world is so important and so beneficial to your home’s style.

Why Designer Furniture Defines Sustainability

Sustainability initiatives greatly vary between designers, but the difference between mass-produced furniture and luxury furniture is immense. Luxury designers focus on slower, more consistent, timeless collections that they create for a longer period of time. This means that they can optimize their materials and manufacturing processes in favor of sustainability efforts.

On the other hand, mass-produced furniture needs to be made fast, cheap, and shipped out to customers before trends can blow over. This means that sustainability moves down the totem pole in terms of importance, and shortcuts in manufacturing and shipment can adversely affect the environment.

This doesn’t mean that designer furniture doesn’t follow trends designers still create pieces according to current design influences, but their focus is on the longevity of both the design and the materials. These designer furniture pieces are built to last and built to keep Earth’s resources safe. Additionally, higher-quality sustainable materials better resist the wear and tear of furniture in your home. This is especially clear in glues and cushion materials in sofas and chairs.

Defining Sustainable Materials And Manufacturing

Materials and manufacturing are the two key areas where sustainability comes into play. These factors affect the quality, production, longevity, and shipment processes of designer furniture. Together, these processes will have an impact on the environment. However, the right luxury designers will offset this damage by sourcing renewable materials and cutting down on toxins in production. By using better materials, sustainability benefits you just as much as it does the environment.

Materials

Natural materials are the way to go when prioritizing sustainability. Luxury designers consider both the wear and tear of furnishing materials and their expected lifetime. Man-made materials like plastics don’t break down after they’ve served their usable lifetime, but using natural materials in textiles and construction improves the comfort and longevity of your furnishings. With advances in materials technology, these natural fibers are providing quality textiles that are also stain-resistant, easier to clean, and ready to withstand bad weather when used outdoors. In furnishings like sofas, high-quality cushion padding, springs, and cushion covers contribute to comfort and sustainability in equal measure.

Manufacturing

Just as good design requires good materials, good production requires skilled craftsmanship. Hand-made production reduces energy requirements and preserves skills that have been passed down for generations. Quality control isn’t just an afterthought; each furnishing is checked thoroughly at every stage of the production process. A slightly slower production process allows for hand-made artistry, enhanced quality, and custom-made furnishings that are built to your specifications. By keeping design and production local, you can expect custom furnishing made in the USA in just a few weeks, without the harmful impact on the environment created by mass-produced furniture. If a design workshop handles everything from inspiration to creation to shipping, they can also engage in circular manufacturing processes-reusing waste material from one stage of the process somewhere else. This means that material gets repurposed, not thrown in a landfill.

Shipping

Just because worldwide shipping has become easier over the years, it doesn’t mean it’s good for the environment. Shipping large items like furniture takes an incredible amount of resources. Now consider a construction warehouse in a different country from the natural materials, which is in a different country from the furnishing’s final destination. All of these worldwide shipments take time, money, and make it easy to cut corners in quality control. Buying from local designer furniture workshops helps you get your furnishings faster while reducing the impact on the environment. Many workshops in the States understand this, and because the wood they source is local, they place a great importance on preserving America’s natural beauty and resources.

Designer Spotlight: Design With A Sustainability Focus

Many leading design brands have embraced sustainability in their design and production processes. We want to highlight some design leaders in sustainability who still keep quality, longevity, and good design at the forefront of their methods.

American Leather

American Leather furniture takes sustainability seriously. They’re one of the founding members of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, working towards a greener American furnishing market. They strive to reuse production materials, use renewable natural materials, and use non-toxic glues in their workshop. Moreover, their workshop is in Dallas, Texas, meaning faster shipping times, reduced environmental impacts, and support for the Dallas community.

Precedent Furniture

Precedent Furniture has a focus on custom, which means a focus on sustainability. Made-to-order furnishings reduce waste, excess product, and generate less of an environmental impact compared to mass-produced furniture. Furthermore, custom furniture equates to timeless luxury, giving your home the missing piece it needs in its perfect style. Whether it’s custom upholstery or custom furniture sizing, the modern comfort of Precedent delivers excellence with sustainability in mind.

Verellen

Verellen designer furniture is crafted with Belgian inspiration and an eye for quality and sustainability. They try to use renewable and recycled materials in their production process, without compromising on quality. After all, the best form of sustainability is longevity in both design and production. They also pack their furniture in recyclable materials for shipping, showing that no part of the production process is overlooked.