FAST FURNITURE, what is it and what are its impacts on you and our planet?

1) Fast-Furniture: what is it?

The use of the English term “fast”, which means fast, refers to a series of characteristics that you can find in any object or typology of consumer objects designated with the prefix “fast”. These are fast consumer products, their development and preparation are done at sustained rates, in an industrial manner and which allow a low-cost acquisition as well as rapid consumption.

This is an economic model which is, in reality, an inexhaustible source of “ready to throw away” products whose harmful environmental and societal consequences multiply at each link in the chain of manufacturing, distribution, consumption and treatment of derived waste.

For a very long time and still today, the fashion industry is at the forefront of the most polluting industries in the world. The concept of “fast fashion” has largely contributed to this phenomenon.

In this article, we will discover how a phenomenon that is not so recent but which has greatly increased during the COVID 19 pandemic, that of FAST FURNITURE, has propelled the furniture industry as a whole to an awareness of the negative effects of this manufacturing and consumption model.

A piece of furniture resulting from the Fast Furniture dynamic is not a piece of furniture designed and produced to last. Achieving a low price for the end buyer remains the first priority, to the detriment of the quality of materials and components and therefore with a direct negative impact on the durability and expected longevity of this type of furniture.

There are many examples of world-famous brands that flood the furniture market with ready-to-dispose furniture, whose life expectancy does not exceed five years (in the best case) and which are destined to be quickly replaced by other cheap furniture. Such brands are for example: IKEA, Wayfair, etc. It is unthinkable to compare a high-end sofa from a manufacturer specializing in luxury furniture with a fast furniture sofa from a superstore.

Deana McDonagh, professor of industrial design at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, shared her feelings about fast furniture: I have the same feeling about fast furniture as I do about fast food, it’s furniture that has no history and is totally empty in terms of culture and know-how.

The impact detected on the treatment of domestic waste in several cities in the United States has led to a recent collective awareness and actions to try to correct and reduce the environmental effects of fast furniture.

The most polluting brands are demonstrating initiatives that are moving in the right direction, such as IKEA’s “Buyback and resell” system, which allows you to resell your old furniture, which would then be refurbished and then resold by the brand.

In this article, we will see how the objective to reduce the negative impacts of fast furniture is very similar to that known for some time in the field of fast fashion: to achieve a circular economic model in which waste and aging products are revalued, the use of resources and the output of manufacturers are considered through the prism of eco-sustainability, and the players in the different links of the production/distribution chain act together to minimize the social and environmental impacts of this very low-cost furniture model so popular with consumers.

Fast furniture copies the latest fashion trends but also iconic and timeless designs. If we take as an example a classic and timeless model of Scandinavian design, the Wishbone chair, imagined in 1949 by the designer Hans J. Wegner and manufactured under license by Carl Hansen & Son in Denmark. You will quickly notice that there are resellers of the authentic product and resellers who offer pale imitations at a much more affordable price, to the point of making the product “disposable”.

1.1 What are the characteristics of a fast furniture piece?

A true reflection of our consumer society is that speed (“fast”) prevails over quality and durability. We are always looking to produce in greater quantity, more quickly and at the lowest price in order to meet the demand of consumers who are mostly crazy about this type of “fast” furniture, whether it is a dining table, a sofa or a bar stool.

A quick indicator of the quality of a piece of furniture is the quality of the materials and components used in its manufacture. Fast furniture is made with one priority: a very low price. The components and materials are therefore of inferior quality and the durability and longevity of the product is seriously questioned.

How to recognize fast furniture?

Here are some characteristics of a fast-furniture piece:

• A piece of furniture of this type is often bought impulsively, the low price dimension taking precedence over the quality of the piece of furniture. On the contrary, a purchase of a high-end piece of furniture will undoubtedly lead you to do some research, do some research and choose carefully, even test the piece of furniture before buying it.
• Mass production with accumulation of stocks intended for mass sale, if necessary, liquidated at the lowest price in order to make room for the next collection
• Using low-end, unsustainable components and materials to further reduce the price.
• Particleboard is hidden under the surface, covered by also low quality veneers (melamine, etc.)
• Production sites with a poor reputation for worker protection, which may involve the work of children, pregnant women and a system that does not reward the human workforce used (wages, social and medical protection). 
• Use of many packagings with little ecological awareness (non-recyclable materials.
• Open circuit (unlike a circular mode) where waste and the products themselves are little recovered and intended to further saturate existing waste treatment systems.
• A long logistics circuit (road, air, sea transport, etc.) littered with intermediaries and poorly optimized (in opposition to a circular dynamic) with a significant and recurring carbon footprint.
• “Ready to throw away” furniture in its design, production and consumption.
• Total absence of recycled or sustainably sourced materials (FSc certificate for wood for example) in the manufacture of the furniture

1.2 Well-known brands selling fast furniture

It is reductive to name only a few brands when the vast majority of furniture visible on the internet is worthy of classification as “fast furniture” .

Consumers have largely adopted the same attitude towards their furniture purchases as they do for their fashion purchases (clothes and accessories): the ability to consume and change their minds quickly and to flit between one offer and another among a multitude of brands offering equivalent products in terms of price, design and quality.

High-end furniture is generally made to order, the time between confirmation of an order, production start-up and final delivery to the customer can vary from 4 to 12 weeks depending on the manufacturer. The price of a genuine high-end piece of furniture does not allow for an impulsive and unreasonable purchase. Brands and stores offering fast furniture, in order to be able to engage in a relentless price war and immediate availability of their furniture, use lower quality materials and components including particleboard with a low-end veneer. Particleboard is less robust, breaks more easily and is more difficult to recycle, not to mention that it has carcinogenic properties. Fast furniture, unless it is integrated into a circular logic (consumption è recycling and waste recovery), is automatically to end its days in landfills across all the countries where it is sold.

What are the most famous fast furniture brands?

These are brands that distribute furniture or brands that manufacture mass-produced furniture that is not intended in principle to last beyond a period of five years and that we find, after a few years, in all the landfills and garbage dumps that are now saturated by a veritable avalanche of low-cost furniture of all types that end up in household garbage and waste.

As an example, the most famous names can be cited:

• IKEA
• AIM
• WAYFAIR
• CDISCOUNT
• CONFORAMA
• CASTORAMA
• LA REDOUTE (AMPM)
• AMAZON
• RAKUTEN
• SKLUM
• MILIBOO
• AUCHAN
• CROSSROADS
• MATELPRO

2) The different dimensions of Fast-Furniture

2.1 Is Fast-furniture eco-responsible furniture?

The answer is clearly negative. Such an economic model, which bases all its interest for the consumer on a very low price, cannot fulfil its social and environmental obligations.

The use of particleboard with synthetic veneers (melamine, etc.) involves the use of urea formaldehyde (UF, polyvinyl acetate, emulsion polymer isocyanate (EPI), melamine urea formaldehyde (MUF) and phenol resorcinol formaldehyde) which is a known human carcinogen. Workers in fast furniture factories are exposed to it, often without suitable protection, the furniture will carry this toxic component until the time of incineration of the furniture at the end of its life, with polluting emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOX) into the atmosphere.

The very short life cycle of a fast furniture item gives rise to all-round pollution of the environment as well as saturation of waste recovery and treatment systems.

The materials and components used do not themselves come from eco-responsible production. The wood, if used, does not come from sustainable plantations (FSC certificate).

2.2 Fast furniture and high-end furniture, are they compatible?

True high-end or luxury furniture is at the opposite end of the spectrum from fast food furniture.

Everything differentiates them, discover our point-by-point analysis.

How to distinguish high-end furniture from fast furniture?

Here’s how to differentiate high-end furniture from fast-food furniture:

• Built to last or built for quick, short-term use?
• Do the collections follow one another very quickly and uninterruptedly?
• Production to order or production in large quantities?
• Workshop production or industrial production?
• Does the price reflect the quality of the furniture or does it simply seem irresistible to you because it is so low?
• High-quality components that are robust and durable or fragile and low-tech components?
• Does the furniture feel solid, sturdy to the touch and in terms of its weight, or is it light, flimsy and hollow?
• Has child safety been taken into account in its manufacture and in the installation and use instructions (by asking you to fix a cupboard or shelf to the wall for example)?
• Is the furniture delivered assembled or do you have to do a lot of work to assemble the furniture at home (IKEA is a perfect example)?
• Use of noble materials and species (solid wood) or rather low-end materials (particle board, synthetic fabrics, etc.)?
• Is the manufacturer transparent about its eco-responsibility and its efforts to reduce the impact on the environment generated by the manufacture and distribution of its furniture?
• Are the packaging recyclable?
• What type of after-sales service can you expect from the manufacturer or distributor?

Hastily woven, revealing the metal structure of the furniture.	Stainless steel components are dirty and scratched.	Poor quality braiding, this type of resin will not last long.

3) Other similar and “fast” phenomena:

There are many business models designated as “Fast”, here are some of the most representative examples of these fast trends.

Fast food

Probably the first to give his name to the concept of “Fast”,

Eating “fast food” is inevitably synonymous with a diet that is too fatty, too salty (or too sweet) and too high in calories, the negative effects of which on our health have been known for a long time. New studies have also demonstrated the harmful effects of ultra-processed foods on the development of human mental and cardiovascular health, particularly in terms of Alzheimer’s (including senile dementia) and other cognitive diseases. It appears that these ultra-processed foods also contribute to the development of colorectal cancer (“colon cancer”).

Fast food menus contain many ultra-processed foods including sodas and soft drinks, fries, desserts, sauces, etc.

How to recognize fast food?

To recognize an ultra-processed food, here are some characteristics:

• Refined flours
• Refined sugars (high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners)
• Refined oils (trans fats | trans fatty acids (TFAs))
• Artificial colors
• Artificial ingredients
• Conservatives
• Additives
• E numbers

What are the most famous fast food brands?

The most well-known brands have a presence in all our cities:

• Mc Donald’s
• KFC,
• Burger King
• Pizza Hut
• Quick
• Subway
• Big Fernand
• Half of Pasta
• Pine cone
• Nabab

Fast Fashion

In the not-so-distant past, clothes were purchased for long-term use, with some even being passed down from one sibling to the youngest in the family.

Clothing purchases were made based on seasonal trends (weather changes) or when a person grew and needed larger clothing.

Since the emergence of ephemeral collections that follow one another at a frantic pace, all at unbeatable prices, the perception of the act of buying clothes has changed profoundly. Consumers were crazy about €5 t-shirts without asking themselves about the real cost of such a model. It was only in 2013 with the collapse of the Rana Plaza clothing complex (a place where these low-cost clothes were manufactured) in Bangladesh and the death of more than 1,000 workers that Western society became aware of the real conditions of production of what we then began to call “fast fashion”.

We can define the phenomenon of fast fashion as a mode of production and marketing of clothes reflecting the latest fashion trends, made at low cost and sold at discount prices.

Trends (colors, shapes, etc.) are borrowed from fashion catwalks and ideas proposed by the many influencers (present on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, etc.) and by celebrities followed by millions of followers.

The key is to provide the consumer market with new collections that reflect the latest fashion trends. The idea that it would be a “fashion faux pas” to use the same clothes repeatedly is now deeply ingrained in the minds of consumers who are motivated by frequent purchases in order to wear the latest fashion trends.

According to a 2017 study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of clothing is incinerated or dumped in a landfill in the United States EVERY SECOND.

In 2022, the clothing sector as a whole produces 92 million tonnes of textile waste and consumes  93 billion m³ of water  each year. 

How to recognize a fast-fashion brand?

These questions will help you recognize a fast fashion brand:

• Were the proposed models put on sale very quickly after the appearance of a new trend inspired by fashion catwalks, influencers or a celebrity?
• Do the prices offered seem realistic to you and compatible with a quality product?
• Is this a disposable or quickly replaceable garment?
• Are their clothes produced in huge factories or with a subcontracting system involving a large number of workers and laborers where wages are not decent and workers live in precarious conditions?
• Is the brand transparent with you regarding the manufacturing conditions (work, environment, social responsibility, etc.) of its collections?
• Do you feel like you’re being pressured into buying because of a limited availability message?
• Are the clothes made with low quality materials (very often synthetic), which are not very durable and often very polluting?
• What does this brand or retailer do with unsold or returned clothing? Are they recycled or donated to charity? Often the answer is no, they are simply incinerated…

What are the most famous fast fashion brands?

• Zara
• H&M
• UNIQLO
• GAP
• Forever 21
•  Topshop
• Pull and Bear
• Massimo Dutti
• Bershka
• Stradivarius
• Oysho
• Decathlon
• Urban Outfitters
• United Colors of Benetton
• Nike
• Adidas

You will notice that the concept of fast fashion also applies to the field of sport and more particularly in the clothing of athletes.

Fast Design

This term often includes interior decoration and furnishing objects, but not exclusively.

These are decorative objects (candles, sculptures, paintings, wall panels, carpets, etc.) that are purchased impulsively because the low price of the product allows for consumption without thinking too much about it. If the product is not suitable, it is returned or thrown away without considering what impact this could have on our environment, starting with the saturation of landfills from waste treatment systems.

The proliferation of influencers and new social marketing techniques (social networks) have given rise to the creation of new trends, very often artificially (a celebrity or influencer being paid to create buzz (viral marketing) around a decoration product). The beautiful images that celebrities and influencers share on their social accounts (Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc.) arouse the irresistible desire in their followers to own the same objects.

We will see below, the impacts of the COVID19 pandemic on fast-furniture, this phenomenon has also spread widely to interior decoration. The forced confinement has predisposed many consumers to rush to the tempting offers available online for decorative objects and improvements to their interior.

4) Why have fast furniture sales exploded in recent years?

The COVID pandemic and the explosion of sales

The COVID 19 pandemic and the lockdown that forced us to stay indoors has been a catalyst for the explosion of fast furniture consumption. Staying at home for hours and days at a time, consumers have spent a lot of time taking care of their interior decoration and buying furniture to improve their comfort and the aesthetics of their home.

Social media and online retailers have experienced an unparalleled boom during the pandemic compared to other periods. Two sectors in particular have seen huge activity: DIY and furniture and interior design.

To work there (teleworking), to live there during confinement, to cook, to relax, etc., consumers have arranged their interior space by taking advantage of online offers.

Interestingly, the craze for fast furniture at that time was not exclusive to consumers looking for low-cost products; the other dimension of the fast furniture concept is that of furniture that is available quickly, therefore available in large quantities and stored close to end customers. Architects and interior designers who usually work in the luxury and high-end furniture sector have experienced problems related to the lack of availability of the high-end furniture and decorative objects they used in their projects. The impact of the pandemic has been very negative in terms of the presence of workers in the furniture sector, bottlenecks in international transport and the lack of availability of technical components. The manufacturing and delivery time for a piece of furniture made to measure or to order has been considerably extended. This lack of availability of high-end furniture during the pandemic forced them to rethink their proposals and turn to fast furniture brands so as not to delay their current projects during this period.

5) What are the consequences of the proliferation of fast furniture?

Fast furniture and child safety

Let’s start with a chilling statistic.

In 2021, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) determined that every 60 minutes in the US, a child arrives in the emergency room after a piece of furniture falls. The problem is even more serious when you consider these details:

• 91% of these incidents take place in a private home
•  When a piece of furniture falls on a child, the consequences are much more often fatal than for an adult since 82% of deaths following a fall of furniture are children.
• On average, 2 to 3 children die each month following a fall from a television, piece of furniture or household appliance.

Furniture falling on a child can cause a variety of injuries – head trauma, bruises, lacerations and fractures – and even death. The worst part is that these accidents are often preventable.

Anchoring a piece of furniture to the floor or against a wall is a precaution that many consumers consider unnecessary because it was not done with the furniture of yesteryear which was heavy, robust and stable on its feet.

Shelves and other furniture of a certain height from fast furniture are light, often self-assembly with a risk of lack of stability afterwards. The production and packaging of fast furniture in “flat pack” (flat parcel) – and “knock-down” (unassembled furniture) in order to fill the shipping container or truck as much as possible) are imperatives to always and still reduce the price of the product.

The lightness of the product and the assembly required by the customer are often the cause of accidents that our children often suffer. We almost never talk about the interest of anchoring a piece of furniture against the wall or the floor.

A poorly designed table (ground clearance and fixing perimeter compared to the size of the table top) or a poorly secured table top can easily tip over when a child is playing without realizing the danger.

A high-end piece of furniture, on the other hand, is made with durable and heavy components (solid wood versus particle board for example) which make it more stable, it is often delivered assembled and it is intended to last a lifetime, even several generations. It will be less easy for a child to inadvertently tip over a piece of furniture of this type.

Most accidents are therefore often preventable, and the CPSC has created Anchor It! A campaign to educate parents about the dangers that falling furniture poses to their children. Specifically, Anchor It! encourages consumers to buy sturdy furniture, secure heavier furniture and televisions, and purchase anti-tip hardware if it is not included with the product.

Working conditions and health of workers in the Fast Furniture industry

Workers in the “FAST” sectors, whether fast-fashion or fast-furniture, almost systematically experience atrocious reality and living conditions.

If consumers of these products could become fully aware of the reality of the “fast slaves”, we could hope for greater accountability from fast furniture and fast fashion brands. It would still be necessary for consumers in developed countries to feel real compassion and solidarity with workers in developing countries, which is not always the case for a young audience motivated by the choices of the influencers they admire and imitate.

In order to meet the imperative of an extremely low price, they are the real victims of these economic models. Poorly paid, working in deplorable health, hygiene and safety conditions, industrial disasters causing hundreds of deaths in workshops or factories on the other side of the world have been occurring one after the other over the years.

The work of children and pregnant women and, in general, the quasi-medieval exploitation of people working in the fast furniture or fast fashion industry, transforms them into real slaves serving the tastes of consumers and the companies that propagate these models.

A very significant example is the massive use of particle boards (also called “chipboard” or “wood chipboard”). These boards are made by binding shavings from the grinding of various wood waste (sawdust, slabs, slats, etc.) with a resin. In order to obtain a board shape, the mass of shavings and the resin are hot pressed. The vapors produced by these different operations contain formaldehyde (present in the resin used as a binder). This substance is extremely toxic and carcinogenic to humans. The workers, being poorly protected, are the first victims of this low-end production.

The toxicity of this substance, formaldehyde, can also have an impact on end users as we will see in the following paragraph.

6) Fast furniture and the environment

Environmental pollution by fast furniture

Deforestation caused by fast furniture production

The fast furniture industry does not bother to replant trees to replace those that have been cut down to satisfy its thirst for this precious natural material. Up to 7 billion trees are cut down each year that are not replaced.

The predominant use of plastic

The components of old furniture made of durable and non-harmful materials have been massively replaced by plastic-based materials, which are much cheaper.

Plastic takes years to decompose and can release microplastics/microfibers and harmful chemicals into the environment during the decomposition process.

The impact of massive use of plastic in the production of fast furniture and its impact on the environment is a daily concern for the entire global community.

Excessive water consumption to make a quick piece of furniture

With the predominant use of plastic in the manufacture of a low-end fast furniture piece, it should be noted that the production of plastic is very intense in terms of water usage. In fact, it takes up to 84 liters of water to produce 450 grams of plastic, this ratio is astonishing.

If the fast furniture is made of fabric, it is the dyeing process that is very water-intensive. The same goes for the tanning of the hides used in leather coverings.

During the manufacture of the furniture or its components

It is not only the toxic and polluting effects of formaldehyde, a chemical component used in the manufacture of particle boards, that can be cited as pollutants or toxicants.

Workers in the fast furniture industry almost always live in less developed countries and their working conditions do not take into account the toxicity of the products to which they are exposed (handling, inhalation, etc.).

Fabrics, leathers (skins) and other coverings used in the manufacture of low-end or fast furniture are often made with poor quality materials that are dyed or tanned and treated with chemicals that are toxic to the environment. Very often tanneries and textile factories on the other side of the world simply pour the industrial waste from their production directly into nearby rivers and streams. It is therefore not surprising to discover the impact on fauna and flora even in the oceans, very far from the fast furniture production factories.

Fast furniture transport

Being produced in countries where labor is paid at very low prices, fast furniture must then begin a very long journey (often by sea) to the continents where the end customers are located. This is followed by truck transport, storage and handling in a warehouse, a passage through the different logistics links until delivery to the end customer.

The carbon footprint (carbon dioxide emissions) of this supply chain is just as important as the footprint specific to the conditions in which the furniture is produced.

Hardly “repairable” furniture destined to clutter up landfills

Fast furniture is not built to last, so it quickly ends up in bulky waste or simply in landfills. There are chairs with a missing leg or furniture with “cosmetic” damage because they are not very resistant and fragile.

While it is entirely possible to sand and repair a piece of solid wood furniture, furniture made from particle board (“agglo”) and covered with a veneer (“laminate” or “melamine”) is very difficult to repair and given its price, we don’t even think about it…

The US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) estimates that 9 million tons of furniture are dumped in the United States each year (there was a notable spike during the pandemic well beyond this figure, exceeding 12 million tons). This waste is not very recyclable and ends up being incinerated with the negative effect of the toxic chemical components it contains.

7) Impact on consumer health

The intensive use of particle boards

Particle board furniture originated in the United States in 1940 when it was produced to meet the needs of the many refugees

Today, the health damage caused by particle boards is a recognized fact. In 1985, the WHO included the chemical components contained (particularly formaldehyde) in the resin used in the construction of particle boards in the list of carcinogenic substances.

Polyurethane foam in your sofa fast furniture

Don’t expect to find goose or duck down or feathers in the stuffing of your cheap fast couch. More than likely, your couch seats are stuffed with polyurethane foam, which is extremely toxic and can release VOCs (volatile organic compounds) into your home.

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs)

In the European Union (EU), the use of certain RFBs is prohibited or restricted.

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are mixtures of chemicals used in the industrial production of furniture to make furniture less flammable.

In English they are called PBDEs (polybrominated fire retardants).

However, due to their persistence in the environment, there remain concerns about the risks these chemicals pose to public health.

RFBs have been shown to have a particularly harmful impact on children’s health.

Products treated with RFBs, whether currently in use or as waste, release substances that leak into the environment and contaminate air, soil and water. These contaminants can then enter the food chain, where they are present mainly in foods of animal origin, such as fish, meat, milk and milk products.

8) What is not FAST FURNITURE?

Antique furniture

These pieces of furniture were made for the most part with care and passion, using noble and durable materials. These pieces of furniture were made to last and be passed down from generation to generation. A purchase was a purchase for a lifetime in the minds of consumers.

The value of these pieces of furniture is even greater when we take into account the multiple possibilities that allow us to give them a new life or change their appearance to match our more modern tastes.

Eco-friendly furniture

Natural fiber furniture

These pieces of furniture are often made of natural materials that are abundant and that can sometimes even be harmful to the ecosystems where they are present (this is the case of water hyacinth in particular). These pieces of furniture and the braiding of fibers is an activity with a strong human component, but this does not mean that they can be made in a quasi-industrial manner (in factories or via subcontracting in workers’ homes). They can also be produced in advance and stored in Europe. It is necessary to distinguish between a piece of furniture made of high-end braided natural fibers (with a robust frame and top-quality fibers) and those that are low-end, whose life expectancy is much lower.

Depending on the quality of the products and their manufacturing method, it will be necessary to analyze the production and marketing chain in order to determine whether they are fast furniture or not.

Furniture made from recycled materials

These pieces of furniture are experiencing an increasingly significant boom: furniture made from recycled cardboard, recycled plastic, etc. Given that this new, very specific segment is still in the development phase, we cannot speak of fast furniture; quite the contrary, for the moment, recycled furniture is part of one of the solutions recommended to counteract the negative impacts of fast furniture.

Luxury furniture and high-end furniture

By using noble materials and technical and sustainable components, luxury furniture stands out from the fast furniture phenomenon. Absence of stocks, production on order and certified sustainable materials (FSC certificates for wood for example) are other parameters that distinguish luxury furniture from fast furniture.

It is also possible to order this luxury furniture and have it delivered directly from the manufacturer’s production center, which considerably reduces the carbon footprint compared to fast furniture, produced in large quantities, sent to different warehouses and which follows a long logistics chain (handling, transport, etc.) before arriving at the end customer’s home.

9) What can be done against the FAST FURNITURE phenomenon? What solutions?

Buy less impulsively

Ask yourself the right questions? Does a piece of furniture at a competitive price seem to you to be able to stand the test of time and wear? Are you thinking of moving and getting rid of these cheap, quick pieces of furniture? What are your own tastes and not those that are sold to you via social networks and advertisements?

Choose high-end products

By purchasing a piece of furniture that will last for generations, it is clear that your carbon footprint will be much lower than if you were to purchase furniture that will be replaced after one or two years.

 Do your research, do your research and compare brands. If you are producing to order and the product, its components and the materials used are robust and of good quality, you are on the right track.

By investing in a piece of furniture that you will love and keep for a long time, you will reduce your carbon footprint while bringing joy and personalization to your home.

Choosing eco-sustainable furniture

Choose recycled furniture or furniture that uses recycled materials; your carbon footprint will already be smaller than with “quick furniture”.

Using sustainable natural materials (abundant and with little or no carbon footprint) in the creation of furniture is an excellent initiative that you will support by preferring this type of furniture.

Choosing ecologically and socially responsible actors

1. Demand transparency and accountability from the brand or retailer from which you purchase your next piece of furniture. Some selection criteria to remember: ethical and humane management of the workforce, support for minorities and people in difficulty, local purchases of components and materials to support local communities, eco-sustainable packaging, a recovery and recovery plan for your furniture at the end of its life, etc.

• Buy from manufacturers who not only have their own ecological conscience but who demand that their partners, their suppliers of components and materials, their resellers, are also eco-responsible. It is about aiming for a value creation chain that is aware and sensitive to the good gestures and principles of eco-responsibility and which produces truly eco-responsible products.

• Cutting out middlemen and delivering directly to customers from manufacturing plants

Just because of their huge supply chain (production, transportation, multiple storage, delivery, etc.), fast furniture is very harmful to the environment.

• Be consistent in your ecological stance

Be consistent in your position and decisions

Don’t be part of the vast majority of consumers who claim to be eco-responsible, who eat products recommended by new dietary trends (quinoa, avocado, etc.), support certain eco-sustainable initiatives in their consumption habits but who ultimately let themselves be seduced by very low prices (clothing, furniture, etc.) and end up doing the complete opposite of what they claim out loud, by promoting the fast furniture business.

As of today, with all the information available and disseminated by multiple media, people consuming fast furniture are aware of sustainable consumption choices but do not reflect this in their furniture or fashion purchases.

• Fast design
• Fast food

Major concerns in the treatment of waste in urban areas, application of the “polluter pays” concept with McDO

• Fast fashion

ZARA, collections that follow one another and become obsolete in a few months

Recycle materials and furniture

More and more designers and furniture manufacturers are attracted to using recycled materials in their furniture designs.

The result varies enormously, some artists or designers end up with real masterpieces which are even more valued by this eco-sustainable dimension and go against the fast-furniture phenomenon.

Furniture made with recycled or reclaimed materials

A great example is the work of Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek who created this beautiful chest of drawers using reclaimed pieces of wood:

And here is another example from the same designer showing how creativity and natural materials can be combined to create an original piece of furniture:

Here is a video in English that perfectly illustrates the “slow furniture” philosophy of Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek.

UPCYCLING of furniture

In this case, it is about giving new life to a piece of furniture by modifying it a little or refreshing it in order to give it back its shine and desirability. All it takes is a little creativity to give new life to a piece of furniture that has already been used.

This could be an artistic modification (repainting the top of an old table or covering it with a mosaic), materials (reupholstering an armchair for example), or technical (adding casters to an old coffee table).

The history experienced by a piece of furniture that is the subject of “upcycling” remains present and gives value to the piece of furniture.

“With upcycling, you create a unique piece that has its own story,” said Ilori over email. “There’s a layering of meaning and history and you’re going to cherish that piece.”

Buying second-hand is one way to acquire good quality furniture without breaking the bank. But designers like Eek are also hoping that by working with robust, natural materials, they can create new furniture pieces that — while not as cheap as budget options — will be more cost-effective in the long term. “If you make something that lasts forever, then of course your carbon footprint is far less than pieces of furniture that are thrown away one or two years later,” he said. “For me, quality is one of the most important themes.”

Buying used furniture

There are a growing number of websites and sales platforms that are easily accessible to buy vintage (old) furniture, already used (second-hand furniture) and which already have a real history and a real charm due to their experience. Some luxury furniture has become collector’s items and if you have chosen your furniture well (designer, model, materials, etc.), you may be able to make an excellent deal by selling your high-end sofa.

Create specific channels for the recycling and recovery of used furniture

What to do with furniture you no longer want? 

In some recycling centers (you will have to bring your old or broken furniture there yourself or otherwise call on the bulky waste service of your town hall), there are Furniture skips where you can drop off any type of furniture, whether it is made of wood, scrap metal or plastic.

The Eco-furniture sector

The Eco-furniture sector was created by 24 French furniture distributors and manufacturers. It therefore brings together furniture professionals while financing itself via an eco-participation which is added to the price of all furniture sold in France. This sector aims to collect, sort and recycle all furniture.

The aim for the players in this sector is to respond in a structured manner to recycling obligations, to initiate an ecological transition and an eco-sustainable awareness while increasing the means of recycling and recovering used furniture.

Long life of objects and repairability index

A very interesting initiative is that of ADEME (Ecological Transition Agency) which aims to offer a platform to facilitate the exchange, recovery and repair of objects so that consumers acquire the right actions (repair or resell instead of throwing in the trash).

There is a new and very interesting concept: the repairability index. Affixed since the beginning of 2021 on laptops, front-loading washing machines, smartphones, televisions and electric lawnmowers, the repairability index allows us to know whether the devices are more or less easy to repair.

Even if this index does not yet exist in the field of furniture, as far as common products (computers, household appliances, etc.) are concerned, buying a product with a high index considerably reduces the risk of having to replace it in the event of a breakdown.

The site https://longuevieauxobjets.gouv.fr/ makes it possible to bring this superb initiative to fruition.

Where does the furniture you no longer want go?

Without a recycling system, abandoned sofas are simply incinerated. On the other hand, with a system for collecting and recycling abandoned furniture, sofas are crushed to be used as fuel in cement plants, plastic is recycled into pipes, foam from mattresses or seats can be recycled in the construction of insulating panels or judo tatamis.

Furniture rental

If you are planning to move and your current installation is temporary, do not invest in furniture when you know that during any move, you often have to part with furniture that is too difficult or impractical to move. Fast-furniture, delivered disassembled, does not support at all being disassembled to be reassembled later during a move.

The solution of renting furniture on a temporary basis is completely coherent and will reduce your carbon footprint by limiting waste and the need to produce a new piece for you.

Taking care of your furniture

A piece of furniture, just like a car, needs to be maintained and used with care. When you buy a luxury piece of furniture, you will automatically take great care of it, whereas with a piece of furniture bought for a few euros, most often, it will be treated with indifference because its days are numbered as soon as you have confirmed its purchase.

A piece of furniture that is quickly discarded has no history or soul, you will treat it accordingly, with little consideration and you will get rid of it without hesitation, often without measuring the impact on the environment.

Buy products made nearby rather than halfway around the world

Favor furniture that is produced locally (or at least within the same continent), manufacturers who source their components and materials from local suppliers, and any initiative that reduces the need for transportation, packaging, and energy to get a product from its place of production to the end consumer’s home.

Slow fashion

A simple definition of slow fashion would be that it is simply the opposite of fast fashion.

The approach taken in slow fashion revolves around one focal point: making clothes in a sustainable way.

This involves reducing both mass production and consumption.

The first step that any consumer can take is to make sure that you really need new clothes. Looking through your wardrobe can make it easy to repair slightly damaged or defective clothes. Buying second-hand clothes is also a great example.

Extending the life of your own clothes and those of others (buying second-hand) allows you to reduce both production and consumption.

When it comes to buying a new piece of clothing, prioritize quality and durability instead of buying multiple pieces of clothing and outfits that you will rarely use before disposing of them in your trash.

Consider reselling clothes you no longer need or simply donate them to charity so that other people can benefit from them while extending the life of your clothes.

How to identify a slow fashion brand?

In order to identify a “slow fashion” brand, here are some criteria:

• The clothes are made with high quality fabrics that are also sustainable, such as organic linen.
• Clothes are more timeless than trendy and ephemeral.
• Products are sold in small, independent stores (emphasis on the local economy) rather than in multi-site global brands and superstores.
• The clothes are sold and made locally with raw materials obtained from a network of local manufacturers.
• There is not a multiplicity of styles per collection. The collections are counted in two or three maximum per year or in a single multi-season collection.
• Very often, the production-to-order model is present in this type of business model.

Slow furniture

It is about creating an emotional connection between the consumer and the piece of furniture he buys. Automatically, this consumer will be less likely to get rid of this piece of furniture, he will take care of it, maintain it and even think about repairing it if necessary.

The furniture becomes a vector to create and relive memorable moments and memories.

Slow furniture is also distinguished by the attention paid to the responsible, sustainable and ecological aspect of the entire process of manufacturing and selling a piece of furniture.

Sustainable materials and components, a circular mode of activity (recovery and repair of furniture from its customers) are important dimensions of this approach.

Many designers have adopted this vision, but for slow furniture to become a real game changer, furniture manufacturers must also follow suit by sourcing their materials and components responsibly while having a vision of a circular economy model in mind from the product design stage to the 3D model stage. The environmental impact of packaging as well as transport flows must be considered from the moment the product design is started.

Producing smaller quantities would of course be a desirable action but it requires a change in consumer attitudes.

Slow design

This term was first put forward by Alastair Fuad-Luke, an English academic, who theorized this movement in 2004 by proposing that designers design slow design objects in the face of the invasion of standardized decorative objects, governed by the laws of production.

Slow design is not specific to a product category (furniture, clothing, etc.).

After the emergence of slow furniture and slow food, slow design is a concept that is increasingly present in the minds of designers, manufacturers and retailers of all types of products.

It is an attitude and a series of proactive and eco-responsible initiatives, right from the design stage of any product.

The emphasis is above all on quality, a longer lifespan than fast and ephemeral products and a more paused and considered production. It is also about highlighting materials whose supply is done responsibly and promoting the know-how of creators and the well-being of consumers.

Designer Nada Debs at Design Miami 2022 launched a new slogan for the generation of designers who are fans of slow design: “A phrase I always use is: ‘Slow is the new fast,’”: “A phrase I always use very often is slow is the new fast.”

This means that when you take your time to do something, you get more pleasure from it.

Fair fashion

Fair fashion joins the ideas of slow fashion in seeking to “clean up” and “humanize” the production circuit of the fashion world.

Behind the covers and glamour of fashion magazines lies a much less glossy reality: the conditions of workers upstream of the global fashion and ready-to-wear industry.

There are many names: Fair Fashion. Eco-fashion. Ethical Fashion. Sustainable Fashion. Green Fashion. Responsible Fashion.

There are many areas for improvement to achieve decent and fair wages and the implementation of health protection measures for fast fashion workers.

Fair fashion places this concern at the heart of its economic model.

As informed consumers with access to a wealth of information, choosing to buy ethically will reflect what the eco-responsibility of sustainable purchasing means to you.

1. Working conditions in terms of health and safety of employees

Various highly toxic chemicals are contained in the resin used to give particle board (chipboard) a solid shape. The use of particle board with synthetic veneers (melamine, etc.) involves the use of urea formaldehyde (UF, polyvinyl acetate, emulsion polymer isocyanate (EPI), melamine urea formaldehyde (MUF) and phenol resorcinol formaldehyde). Formaldehyde is a known human carcinogen and when the resin containing it is mixed with wood chips to produce particle board (chipboard), the chemicals are present in the steam released by machines that work at high temperatures with steam to press and consolidate the boards.

Many other raw materials or chemical components used in low-end furniture are involuntarily absorbed by workers: volatile organic compounds that emanate from polyurethane foams (sofas and seats of armchairs and chairs), as well as brominated flame retardants that are applied to furniture produced in fast furniture factories.

As for the safety instructions and practices in the factory where fast furniture is made, there should be no illusions. No importance is given to the health or integrity of the worker. The protective equipment is non-existent or rudimentary and would not pass any validation if it were confronted with European standards. The fire protection standards are just as shaky and useless.

It took several tragedies where fast furniture or fast fashion workers died by the hundreds before the West realized what was happening behind the scenes on the other side of the world. The fast fashion brands that were all customers of the factories where the various tragedies occurred, are demanding more demanding means and standards but are not getting involved in a totally responsible and supportive manner with the workers.

The worst tragedy occurred at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh on April 24, 2013, arguably the deadliest event in a garment factory. 1,134 workers died when the building, which housed up to five different garment factories, collapsed. At the time of the tragedy, clothing was being manufactured there for the following brands:   Zara (Inditex), Benetton, C&A, Carrefour, LPP, Primark, Joe Fresh (Loblaw), and Mango .

Workers and laborers in fast furniture factories are exposed to it, often without suitable protection, the furniture will carry this toxic component until the time of incineration of the furniture at the end of its life, with polluting emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOX) into the atmosphere.

Slow fashion vigorously opposes this situation; this model imposes and demands acceptable working conditions comparable to our Western standards.

2. Fair Pay

We now know that behind fast fashion products there is a large population of people enslaved by the needs of fast fashion brands.

A life in abject poverty and a daily struggle to survive is the daily reality of fast fashion workers, very often from illiterate populations without other economic means in developing countries (Pakistan, Bangladesh) but also in India and China, two countries that will no longer be considered developing in a few years. In 2021, China was the richest country among all those officially considered developing by the World Bank, this does not exclude the existence of social classes living below the poverty line.

It is obvious that fast fashion workers are underpaid and, above all, undervalued in terms of their skills and know-how.

Slow fashion seeks to highlight local cultural skills as well as the know-how of artisans and other stakeholders involved in furniture manufacturing.

3. Prohibition of child labour

Slow fashion pays particular attention to the conditions of workers and children. Culturally (but especially in the poorer strata of society, by necessity of survival), it is common to see children doing hard and repetitive tasks. Wages are so low that every member of a family must contribute to earning money from a young age.

Textile factories (fast fashion) and furniture factories (fast furniture) are no exception.

Fair fashion requires regular checks through what is called a social audit, which involves unannounced visits to the manufacturing facilities of their suppliers.

However, it is difficult, if not impossible, to ensure that there are no children working in the textile or furniture production chain because often family units receive semi-finished clothes in their home and once they have finished working on them, these clothes are removed and brought back to the factory.

4. Preserve cultural identity | Cultural Preservation

The principle of slow fashion is to have a positive impact at each stage of textile production. This includes preserving the identity and cultural values ​​of workers.

The ultimate goal is that the culture of the workers is reflected in the products they make.

Fair design

It is often said that one man’s trash is another man’s happiness. A growing number of designers are using private or industrial waste to incorporate it into their creations.

Fabrics, plastics, metals and other materials are recycled and then used in the manufacture of furniture. The recycling process uses a lot of energy and its carbon footprint is far from neutral. It is therefore preferable to use found objects, without modifying them or by modifying them in a creative and non-industrial way, in order to create a new product with a beneficial impact in terms of carbon footprint.

The true precursors and ambassadors of fair design use natural or industrial materials, already used in the past, without transforming them except by making touch-ups and non-energy-intensive operations to rehabilitate them (removing rust, sanding, repainting, cutting and using pieces, etc.).

Circular design

The concept of circular design advocates an economic model in which products are made without any new materials (“virgin materials”), therefore made entirely from recycled materials, and whose design and conception have as a priority: great durability and 100% recycling of materials and packaging.

A growing number of fast furniture brands are announcing with great fanfare their commitment to a process of profound change in the practices and excesses specific to their industry. However, it remains essential to verify and validate the seriousness and effectiveness of the measures they announce. It is not enough to declare oneself eco-socially responsible; it is also necessary to prove it with concrete and effective actions.

IKEA has committed to using only renewable or recycled materials in all its products by 2030. This is a big step towards the precepts of circular design and a real challenge for this company which produces a large proportion of its furniture and decorative accessories ranges in Asia.

The same company, IKEA, launched a furniture exchange and take-back program in 2021 (“Buy back and resell”), the underlying idea being to give new life to used furniture or to recover waste from the recycling of this furniture.

High-end furniture brands are emphasizing the sustainability and longevity of their furniture. Now, this message is attractive for any manufacturer to fit into the circular design movement.

Startup WYE Design creates products using recycled materials and allows its customers to return their used furniture for financial compensation.

According to author of the book “Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure,” Katie Treggiden, we need to go even further by designing products with environmental sensitivity, offering solutions for repair, recovery, resale and other methods to extend the life of any object as much as possible.

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