When thinking about how to reduce our carbon footprint, we might consider looking at alternatives to air travel, avoid using disposable plastic bottles and attempt to use our cars less. It is a start, but it is also important to consider that pretty much everything we buy adds to our environmental impact.
Let’s talk about furniture and the environment – it is not a very popular topic, since we tend to consider furniture items durable goods. However, the numbers paint a different picture.
What happens to the furniture you throw away and how harmful is it to the environment?
In the EU, more than 4% of the municipal solid waste is generated by furniture, that is 10.78 million tonnes! Most of this waste (90%) is incinerated or sent to the landfill – both options have a severe impact on the environment.
Why is it only possible to recycle 10% of the used furniture? Because even pieces of furniture made from natural fibres or wood are treated with various chemicals to improve the appearance and durability. That means the final product cannot be recycled and it ends up filling our lungs and our soil.
Globally, over nine million tons of furniture are thrown away every single year. As our appetite for affordable (and disposable!) furniture increases, so do the landfills. Our interior design choices have a significant impact on the environment.
How can we reduce our carbon footprint when it comes to furniture?
- By investing in eco-friendly, durable furniture that can stand the test of time.
- By participating in the circular economy: refurbish and recycle your pieces of furniture whenever possible.
As you might suspect, these two steps are co-dependent. You cannot have a circular economy without durable, good-quality furniture.
A study published by Horizon Europe highlighted six key cycles to make furniture more circular. Furniture rental is clearly part of the solution:
- Maintain – using preventative maintenance to maximise product lifetime, e.g. a chair remains a chair;
- Repair – corrective maintenance, e.g. a chair remains a chair;
- Reuse – redistributing products through a change in ownership, e.g. a chair remains a chair;
- Refurbish or remanufacture products to optimise lifetime, e.g. by resizing a desk or changing the appearance of a chair through re-upholstering to extend ‘fashion’ service life, or resizing desks;
- Repurpose – change functionality of the product, e.g. a desk becomes a table;
- Recycle – recovering the value of components and materials for feedstock as secondary materials in new products.
Furniture rental for a more sustainable future
A product life cycle has become shorter and shorter. We have grown accustomed to throwing away things that have minor flaws or that are simply out of fashion. This is clearly not aligned with a sustainable mindset.
At Packimpex Smart Furnishing it is our mission to be part of the solution. We invest in durable, top-quality furniture thus enhancing its lifespan. Whenever possible, our furniture is made of recyclable materials, so when its (already longer than average) life cycle ends, it can be recycled partially or entirely.
Moreover, since the furniture can be rented again and again, we take extra care of its maintenance, so it’s always in good condition. Lastly, when our customers decide to put down roots somewhere, our Rent-to-Own model allows them to purchase the furniture they have already been using at a favourable price, thus increasing its lifespan further.
Stress-free moves and flexibility with furniture rental
Disposing of furniture can get very costly and cumbersome. Also, because of oversupply, it has also become more difficult to re-sell the furniture when you move. This means that every move comes with extra steps that complicate your life.
For a lot of people today, flexibility has become an inherent need. They may not know where their job will take them tomorrow or exactly how they want their homes to look like.
Furniture rental takes care of both these problems: you are free to move whenever you want without having to worry about hauling, selling, or disposing of your furniture. Plus, you can choose the furniture you like now without having to consider what happens when your needs or tastes change or when your family grows.
If protecting the environment is as important to you as it is to us, join us in reducing the environmental impact of furniture. Learn how furniture rental works and get in touch with our consultants if you have any questions about how we can support your rental furniture needs.