Thinking of buying furniture? Want to know which companies are serious about sustainability?
Check out the Wood Furniture Scorecard! The Wood Furniture Scorecard website gives you, the consumer, sustainability information on many of your favorite retailers. The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and the Sustainable Furnishings Council (SFC) work jointly on this project and recently released the 2019 scores.
Over 90 companies were assessed in 2019. 21 of those earned Top Scores and several others earned Honorable Mentions. A few earned nearly perfect scores and are truly leading the way in sustainability for the furnishings industry. All of these businesses have made commitments to a healthy future for everyone -- you can feel good about shopping their stores.
Another great resource for shoppers is SFC’s Quick Buying Guide. Here you will learn what questions to ask when purchasing home furnishings -- and the answers you’ll hope to hear. For instance, you can check to see if the wood in a particular piece is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. FSC certification is the gold standard for responsible, earth-friendly wood use!
Forests are crucial, and we must protect them. They provide vital habitats for thousands of species, livelihood for people, and cleaner air. After the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation is the second leading cause of climate change!
Globally, furniture makers are the third largest users of wood (behind construction and the paper industry). Furniture makers, therefore, have an enormous responsibility to harvest sustainably.
As consumers, we wield tremendous power over retailers. What we do (and don’t do) with our dollars speaks volumes and creates real change! Remember when tuna fisheries were accidentally killing dolphins? Simply by refusing to purchase cans without the dolphin-safe mark, shoppers held the industry to account and the industry changed its ways.
Let’s do the same with furnishings! The more we ask about sustainability at our local furniture stores, and the more we search for “sustainable” at the online shops, the more retailers will make decisions that protect the planet. And when retailers apply that pressure to their suppliers, manufacturers, and designers, the earth’s forests will be much safer!
Please consider checking the Wood Furniture Scorecard and the SFC Quick Buying Guide the next time you are shopping for furnishings. Thank you!
