Two New Trends That Have Eco Impact

There are two trends that we are finding across all markets (not exclusive to furniture) as we slowly emerge from the economic crunch. Both can be considered “green”.

The first is the rise in internet shopping. Whether it is because of the rising price of gasoline or simply due to the convenience and proliferation of computers, smart pads and smart phones- more people are doing their searches and shopping online. We have seen it personally but also article after article backs up our observations. Internet sales are up. Brick and mortar (the trade term for ‘stores’) sales are still struggling. The trends strongly indicate businesses that have a strong internet presence are in a better financial position and can offer their customers more.

The second trend is that there is more demand for customization and people are looking for quality in their purchases. I am not sure if this is because we are thirty to forty years into a trend of settling for a homogenized quality level. Perhaps it is because of so much of what we buy is made off shore and consumers are questioning the policy and quality of current furniture being offered.

This doesn’t mean that the personal customer service is out. It all depends upon the site. There are two that we deal with that are good examples. www.20besttwenty offers less per category than many sites but each item is carefully selected by them. Like a juried art show. They work hard to select the very best and have built their reputation for that. www.zecozi.com is green conscious. They have a following of loyal customers that interact with their site – sharing what their favorites are.

Customization and customer service are at our foundation. By doing things the way we do means we work in an eco-friendly manner. We listen carefully to the customer and build what they want specifically. www.barbofurniture.com has several pages dedicated to this theme.. yet still don’t show everything we have made or are capable of building. We are increasing our web presence and are carefully selecting sites we can work with.

Both trends are green. People are not as willing to settle for something that will.. get by. By taking this mindset they are doing their homework, purchasing once and throwing away less.

Our Changing World

I’ve decided to separate my two blogs. If you want to read the author blog go to: sageseedchronicles.wordpress.com. This blog is for the eco friendly furniture business. I have to say that since both come from me, my Science Fiction books have a strong eco base. Hey! They are a world of my creation! Why not!

I want to share what we have begun. Until last October we had a “brick & mortar” (a store) downtown. The economy being what it is we decided to close it and pulled back to one location. That being the small showroom with our furniture making wood-shop. Since then we have been expanding our web presence.. reaching out to the world of clients we had never touched. It is slow but is beginning to grow.

The first step was to form a network of willing customers that we could concentrate on and offer our best deals- lavishing our expertise and talents for this group most willing to receive our knowledge and services.

Then we began to reach out to select marketplaces on the net. First we found www.zecozi.com. They have many of our accessory pieces left over from our brick & mortar days. Now we have our beautiful exotic wood bracelets on the fantastic site: www.20besttwenty.com. Wow what a treat! Look under the “jewels” category!

There is another site that will feature some of our custom furniture. When we get on that site I will let you know. This is a step into the world and into the future. The net is where Gen X and GenY are as well as a number of other age groups. That is where we are and will be!

Landfill Furniture: Part 2

I promised to update you as I get more information. Though all of the data are public domain the pieces have to ferreted out and put together. My friend Alfred and I continue to try to assimilate all of this. The numbers are large and these findings I report today are only preliminary. What I have today is another glimpse of the bigger picture.

Between 1960 and 2008 the population of the United States has grown 69%. The number of households has increased 94% in the same time due to each household being statistically smaller. The amount of upholstered furniture we are throwing away into landfills has increased six times from the 1960 figures to those of 2008. Though the numbers have increased each decade the real jump occurred in the 1980’s and has climbed since then.

There are some assumptions that can be made. 1) In the 1960’s the furniture thrown away had probably already lasted well over twenty years so the quantity tossed out was less. At that time the furniture made was mostly solid wood or, at least, plywood. The construction techniques commonly included multiple and frequent use of corner blocks, mortise and tenon connecting joints and wood glue. People at that time demanded quality. 2) In the mid 1980’s several of the furniture factories moved from the Great Lakes area and the Carolinas to Mississippi and Texas. It was the beginning of trying to make furniture for less. The country had a mind set of deserving the best for less. It was in this decade and into the next that the demand for lower prices pushed furniture companies “off shore” to take advantage of cheaper labor. At the same time the quality of materials dropped. Particle board and MDF replaced solid wood and plywood as the norm because it was cheaper. Corner blocks, mortise and tenon as strengthening construction techniques took longer. Time was money. The older glue was substituted with hot glue because it was faster. It didn’t really matter if it was more brittle and would not last as long. The change was that people accepted the lesser quality and the much shorter life span of the furniture as unobjectionable and the price you pay for being trendy.

We are continuing to gather information and run the numbers. What we have thus far is is staggering and hard to get our minds around. Please stay tuned. We are gathering and refining more information.

The Health Dangers in Your Mattress

Last fall I decided to seriously look into carrying mattresses in my store. As with every line I bring in, I researched what was available. I looked into quality and price point, how they were made and what they were made of. In the trade show I lay down on about ten different mattress brands that had made the first cut. I quizzed reps and read their information. But what really was the eye opener and the deciding factor was the fire retardant story.

The federal legislators passed a law that went into effect in 2007. It was well intended “feel good” legislation that would save us from ourselves and protect us from burning in our beds. All mattresses sold in the U.S. from that time, have to pass a 70 second, two foot wide blow torch of 2000 degrees. That put the mattress manufactures in a real problem solving bind. If they couldn’t pass the test they couldn’t sell mattresses and stay in business! What came out of that is a real toxic nightmare.

The common fire retardant chemicals used are: Antimony trioxide (acutely toxic and cancer causing), Boric Acid (insecticide and rat poison), Ammonium Polyphosphate (a fertilizer that breaks down into ammonia), Melamine (recently in the news- China made pet food), Formaldehyde (carcinogen and can cause blindness), Polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC suspect in causing tumors), fiberglass and silica glass. Many of these chemicals have been proven to leach from the mattress, even through vinyl mattress covers, and be absorbed by our skin. The silica can be inhaled into our lungs as we sleep. This lovely bit of information is not conducive to sweet dreams.

There are no labeling requirements with this law. The mattresses simply must pass the test. So the stores are not required to tell the consumer what is in the mattress and can, in fact, deny having chemicals in their mattresses. I have heard statements such as, “Our mattresses pass the test because: they have Kevlar (that is just a strong thread), or wool which is naturally flame resistant (wool burns at 600 degrees, the test was 2000 degrees), or rayon (has silica, PVDC and phosphates or antimony).” There are other stories but I think you get the idea. In order to pass the test these chemicals are sprayed on the foam or the chemicals are woven into the cloth in the mattress. It is not just a sickening thought. People are really getting sick. Rashes, headaches, sore throats, bronchitis and coughing are just the start. Not everybody is as affected the same. Some people are more sensitive than others and some have weaker immune systems but it is a really nasty scenario.

What I would recommend is that you find a mattress company that, with a doctors prescription, will make you a fire retardant free mattress. There are a few mattress companies that will. The company that I carry will do that but they also give you another option. Instead of having the fire retardant chemicals sprayed on the foam they embedded a removable barrier cloth. What I mean is that there is a zipper that gives you access to the inside of the mattress. The barrier cloth, under the mattress cover, also has a zipper so you can unzip the barrier cloth and remove it from your mattress. Voila´! The chemicals are gone!

So I caution you, please be aware and choose your mattress carefully. After all, you spend a third of your life there. Be healthy.