Green Furniture Buying

Those in Phoenix, like everywhere else in the US, are becoming more aware of the environment and of the need to take steps to go green. Becoming more cognizant of your impact on the environment can take many forms, from recycling to composting to turning off lights when you leave the room, and most people are doing their part on all of these things. However, when it comes to buying furniture, Phoenix AZ residents often wonder just how they can make the "green" choice.

There are a few different ways to buy environmentally friendly furniture. One option is to buy products made of sustainable materials like bamboo. Bamboo is an incredibly fast growing plant so when furniture is made out of bamboo, you can feel confident that your purchase of it didn't contribute to the death of mature trees that will take decades or centuries to grow back.

However, there are some downsides to bamboo as well. For one thing, furniture made of bamboo often tends to match better with contemporary or modern aesthetic, rather than with a traditional home. Not everyone wants to decorate their homes in the same style and this means that bamboo may just simply not work with the look you are going for. Another potential drawback is that sometimes bamboo doesn't produce a very hard product. Strand woven bamboo can be very durable, but with some bamboo products, denting and dings are a real possibility.

Fortunately, there is another option for furniture Phoenix AZ residents should consider, and that is buying furniture used. Buying used furniture has even more green benefits than buying sustainable furniture, so if you make the choice to buy second hand, you can be very confident that you are doing something real to help the environment.

There are several different benefits of buying used furniture when it comes to going green and being environmentally conscious including:

• Saving a piece from going in a landfill. If you buy a used piece of furniture, that piece of furniture will get a new lease on life instead of ending up in the trash. This doesn't mean you have to fill your home with pieces rescued from the dump either. There are plenty of very beautiful furniture pieces that are sold when their previous owners simply get tired of them or move to smaller homes. In fact, you can likely get a nicer looking and better-constructed piece of furniture if you buy used rather than new… and you'll be doing your part for the earth.

• Saving trees. Maple forests have suffered serious depletion in the US due to the extensive use of maple in cabinet making and furniture making. Many other species of wood are also forested each year to produce furniture. Wood prices have continued to rise over time because of more demand and less availability, but this doesn't stop the demand for solid wood furniture. In fact, there's nothing at all wrong with wanting solid wood furniture in your home since it can allow you to achieve a look and a style that you otherwise would be unable to do. However, the best and most environmentally responsible way to buy wood furniture is to purchase used wood furniture. You'll be getting the beauty and durability of the high quality natural wood product, but no additional trees will need to be cut down.

• Buying something that will last. Good quality furniture is easier to purchase when you buy used, since there won't be the high price premium associated with buying a brand new product. If you buy solid, well built furniture with good construction techniques (like dovetail construction) then the furniture piece can last generations and can even be handed down. This is far friendlier to the environment than going to a big box store and buying a lower quality, poorly made item because it is less expensive and then having to then replace that item in a few years when it becomes damaged, broken or unsightly.

• Minimizing transportation and shipment. Much new furniture is made overseas in areas where there is a lower cost of labor. All of this furniture then has to be transported or shipped to its final destination, resulting in the environmental damage that goes along with sending boats or trains full of consumer goods around the world. This can be avoided by buying used items at a local furniture Phoenix AZ store. The items will only need to go from the store to your living room if you make this choice, with far less carbon emissions occurring simply to get that furniture home.

• Cleaner indoor air quality. Furniture made out of MDF, particle board or other composite materials, especially when new, can emit volatile organic compounds (VOCS) and can result in indoor air pollution. If you buy brand new furniture, this means you are creating an environment in your house where off-gassing from that furniture can release toxins. Used furniture, on the other hand, won't have this quality of polluting the air indoors. Even used furniture made of particle board or MDF should result in far less off gassing since this property of furniture and wood-substitutes diminishes over time.

As you can see, when buying furniture, Phoenix AZ residents who want to make the green choice should always consider buying used furniture first. The best part is, by buying second hand, not only can you do your part to save the environment but you can also make your home beautiful for far less money than you'd spend if you bought new.