Last Updated on March 16, 2022 by Kravelv
To make the world a better place to live has been doing the rounds right from the 1970’s onwards in fact. But, seeing the ab initio movement of the 2016 Earth Day Summit: Go-Green seems dreary much like Christchurch, in the middle of an earthquake.
Would corporate houses, cometh mid-22nd century, mirror the kind of dystopia which our ancient writers – Dickens – used to chime in their novels? Probably not; maybe so.
Like forecasting whether, one must admit this is a catch 22 since furniture is the kind of asset i.e., subject to wear and tear. Maintaining a balance between quality and longevity can be next-to-impossible. And, watching an amateur kid tear your veneer apart might as well seem like a pain in the unmentionables. Here are some suggestions based on which you can build a safer, if not better, home office place to live and work. And, that may go a long way in stemming down the arduous pain in you know where.
Tips to imbibe the all elusive Eco-Friendly Office Furniture
- Rally on the finest materials
Like the old school notion of production itself – it all stems from buying the right raw material of your choice or the finest per se. Which is the most sought after furniture wood? Well, there are two good variants on which you can place a safe bet.
Plywood, for one, is revered around the globe for its sustainability and durability. Eco-plywood circumvents the sternly laid environmental norms as they come with a veneer on top, at times mixed up with the wheat straw core. To lend credence to the eye-catchy décor; eco-plywood makes use of eco-friendly abrasives like, for instance, amino acids devoid of easy contamination.
Second to, plywood is perhaps bamboo – the tall and hollow grass of the Poaceae family costs less and ensures sustainability too. Bamboo can be molded, tweaked, and twisted into several shapes and forms – from the plateau to veneer i.e. And, therefore having a caboodle of bamboo-made furniture can play second fiddle to your main furniture materials. Or might as well be the predominant one.
- Bank on Certifications
If your plywood laden furniture has a certificate of authenticity; then all the better for it. Forrest Stewardship Council (FSC) is one such entity that lends credence to corporate houses and in-turn end-consumers – all over the world. A non-profit organization, been in the reckoning for 22 years as of now, the client list of FSC see-saws some of the world’s leading NGOs (Greenpeace, WWF etc.,) as well as forest caretakers and managers. The FSC ensure compliance w.r.t forest regulations are being met from time to time as for indigenous markets and society as a whole. There are other underwriters as well which kind of tries to replicate what the FSC are doing viz. Greenguard, BIFMA, SCS etc.
- Easy Dovetail Fix Guarantees Recycling
Conventional furniture and fittings, almost all of them, are stylishly dovetailed into a single unit which can be detached and attached easily. There are other amalgam’s too in furniture that often tends to wade easy dissembling and sustainability as for dovetails. Better be wary of them for fixed furniture in-turn means unrecyclable furniture, in the longer term.
- Convertible Options ensure dust-free environs!
We heard about dovetail – how about we go one step further? The foldable furniture can be set aside of nature’s perils – weather changes, rodents, wear, and tear etc., – even as they can be transformed from a dining table to that of a Plateau. This convertibility option ensures your furniture won’t drop leaves on the floor or something that may make the office cubicles to go dirty.
- Buy low-toxic furniture only!
Attractive looking plush furniture can be a red herring for safety and comfort on the first look. In stark contrast to this, vintage furniture doesn’t exude toxic gasses to the environs it is fixated in. In this respect, one might as well consider taking cues from underwriters and/or NGOs who lend credence to the end-user. Like FSC; Greenguard is one such NGO concerned with the low gas emission in indoor furniture and fittings. Greenguard certifications are accredited exclusively to corporates that encompass furniture which comply with the pre-requisites of low-chemical usage, permissible emission levels, and exposure modeling.
- Ensure Durability and/or Doggedness
Not all recyclable furniture is durable as such. But most durable furniture is easy to recycle and hence can be eco-friendly with due care. To possess a convertible/recyclable furniture, that doesn’t last for longer periods is of no relative value to your investments. Those ne’er-do-wells is of the same value in fact as for the dirt lying on the floor.
- Avoid soy-based foam; Purge off flame retardants.
People use powdery flame retardants to hamper the gas emission in furniture, which may in-turn torch an office cubicle/corporate office literally to puffs of dust. Flame retardants aren’t all that effective if you think about it for once the upholstery is being lit up – it would burn just as quickly as the gas emitting furniture. Before buying the furniture next time, you would want to cross-check with the manufacturer as to whether they use flame retardants or not. And, it is also advisable not to use so-foam cushions either for more or less the same reasons.
- Buy from the best stores; if possible – Local BUY!
Dovetail fixes in furniture require assembly parts as for computers. And, furniture wood that is sourced from different nodal points may or may not uptake long grinding transportation as such. It is therefore advised to rely on woodcrafts of the local market itself if needed. The kind of local craftsmen who would co-operate with your needs better, and, in case if you patronize them – one that may help you in tax evasion as well.
Pros of Eco-Friendly Furniture
- Improves Employee health, and morale
- Prevents Deforestation
- Cost-effectiveness
- Harnesses work-life equilibrium
- Boosts working efficiency
- Reduces Wastage
- Tax Exemptions can be claimed
- Builds Client Base and Vendor relations
Cons of Eco-Friendly Furniture
- Increase in Asset Management Costs right up-front
- Time Consuming Process, hard to implement
- Increased priority towards vendor relations
- May require changes in the office layout
Bottom Line
Pros (7) would upstage Cons (4) with due care and in due course. Precautions needed to be taken for successful implementation as usual. Nothing can be taken for granted, for Rome, for lack of a better example, was no overnight success. Ab Initio!
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Author Bio:
Levin George is a Search Engine Optimizer at OfficeRock.com. He actively pursues interests related to latest internet marketing trends. He spends his leisure time reading, meditating and enjoying the joys of technology.
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