Where did your furniture come from?

When I set up this blog I promised you a discussion concerning the thread between sustainability and economics. Here we go.

A friend sent me an article by Tom Watson writing for Around the House Public Arts:
(http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/aroundthehouse/arts.artsmain?action=sectionIndex&sid=14)

He is in the right direction with his article but there are points where his facts are not accurate. He states that demands of imported furniture have soared by 78% from 2000-2006. It isn’t that the demand has increased but that the amount of furniture made off shore has increased. So when people buy furniture, it is 78% more likely that they are buying imported furniture. Mr. Watson’s dates are significant. Do you remember the WTO riots in Seattle in the fall of 1999? WTO went into effect and furniture as well as other goods started being made in foreign countries. It kept the cost down for consumers. Soon domestic companies couldn’t compete with products being made off shore and they moved their manufacturing also. Now we import most of the goods we buy. It is a trade imbalance.

Mr. Watson moves on to talk about being careful to buy furniture that is made of FSC lumber (Forest Stewardship Council certified). This is a good practice. You need to ask because the stamp, most likely, will not be present. Most manufactures, who build “green”, will tell you that the “chain of custody” paperwork is the proof. When they buy the lumber it may be stamped with the FSC tree/check logo but by the time the lumber is cut, shaped and sanded for finishing the logo is gone. We make custom furniture and our “chain of custody” lumber comes for Eden Saw in Port Townsend, WA who are FSC certified.

He brings up Ikea not wanting any stamp but theirs on the product. Please read this article from the Washington Post. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/31/AR2007033101287.html) In 2007 Ikea was only 4% compliant and was being made in China with mostly illegal timber. Two years have passed and they’re working to improve their percentage but have stated that it would raise their costs to put enough personnel, on the ground, tracking the “chain of custody” on all of the timber.

Mr. Watson’s final point is that custom furniture and FSC wood can be more expensive. That is true. Not because it is “green” but because of labor costs. Most FSC certified furniture is made domestically. Labor costs include health care and at least minimum wage. We can’t compete with a less-than-a-dollar-a-day wage. That is why so many companies moved their operations to other countries.

Additional articles pertaining to knowing where materials come from: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/126/special-report-china-in-africa.html