5 Problems With Fast Furniture and Sustainable Alternatives
Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love getting a new piece of furniture to update their space? In recent years we’ve had access to furniture at lower costs than ever before. This seems great on the surface, giving us the option to change looks and freshen things up on a budget. However, this fast furniture trend and the waste it creates aren’t as amazing as they seem. Fast furniture doesn’t last, is filling our landfills, uses extra materials, isn’t very healthy for consumers, and is usually created with questionable labor practices.
Part of why I started my furniture refinishing business was to create an alternative to fast furniture. I absolutely love taking an overlooked or dated piece and giving it a new life. I am reusing what is already out there and providing a high-quality piece of furniture at a reasonable price. What’s not to love about that?
What is fast furniture?
Have you heard the term fast fashion? Well, fast furniture is the furniture industry version of that. Think low-quality, mass-produced furniture. Often these pieces are made with particle board and is assembled by the customer to save on shipping costs. They are not built to last, but rather to keep up with the latest furniture trends at the lowest price point.
5 Problems with fast furniture
I’m highlighting my top five biggest issues with fast furniture: it isn’t as cheap as it seems, filling our landfills, using lots of wood and other resources, isn’t very healthy, and is created with questionable labor practices.
1. The true cost of fast furniture
Like anything, you get what you pay for. And the quality of fast furniture is terrible! It is not built to last, so you can expect to have to replace these pieces. This will end up costing you more money in the long run, and that cheap piece may not be as cheap as you think.
Many fast furniture pieces are self-assembled, so when you pick them up to move them around the joints get stressed and are prone to damage. If you spill a liquid on one and it penetrates the surface, the pressed particle board will swell and chip away. And because they are not made of real wood, they are very difficult to repair. True wood joints can be reglued and clamped, pressed particle board cannot.
2. Furniture waste
With poor quality comes waste. Because these pieces are difficult to fix, they cannot be reused and end up in the landfill. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 12 million tons of furniture are thrown away every year in the United States. Additionally, there are many vintage pieces already out there with lots of life left to them. Those also end up in landfills if no one is willing to reuse them.
3. Consumption of materials
When we make new furniture instead of reusing what we have, we are using up resources (and money). Even though fast furniture may not be made of solid wood, wood is still the primary material used. These pieces are contributing to deforestation worldwide and may use wood that is not sustainably farmed. Transporting this furniture worldwide also consumes a significant amount of resources and creates a large amount of carbon emissions.
4. Health impacts of new furniture
The glues and chemicals used in new furniture production release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into your space. This is called off-gassing. These VOCs can cause allergic reactions and more serious health effects. For example, particle board contains formaldehyde which is a known carcinogen.
New furniture releases its highest level of VOCs in the first year, but this can last even longer depending on the materials. The longer your furniture has been around the less you have to worry about this. Granted, a new paint finish on a piece of furniture will off-gas too, but this is one of the reasons I primarily use low VOC water-based finishes.
5. Labor practices
To keep costs down, most fast furniture is made in parts of the world with cheap and questionable labor practices. There is little to no regulation, so workers are exposed to chemicals and work long hours in unsafe conditions (including children).
Alternatives to fast furniture
If you’re familiar with my furniture business, you know that refinishing or upcycling vintage furniture is my favorite alternative to fast furniture! But there are other great options out there as well, such as buying new furniture that is sustainably made or renting furniture.
Refinishing vintage furniture
We’ve all seen that dated furniture your grandmother tried to hand down. It’s not your style and doesn’t fit with other decor in your space. While so many say no thank you, I’m so glad I said yes! When my husband and I bought our first home, we had very little extra cash lying around but lots of rooms to furnish. We were lucky enough to have some pieces from my grandparents and uncle become available right around this time. We took them and I redid them myself on a budget.
I taught myself and fell in love with the work along the way. If you have the time and energy, it is a great way to furnish a room or an entire home on a budget. I have my learn to paint furniture post linked here. Even if you don’t have family pieces given to you, there are very affordable ways to find vintage furniture – local thrift shops, Habitat Restores, and Facebook Marketplace.
If you don’t want to do the work yourself, there are many furniture refinishers out there who sell refinished/upcycled pieces. Many do custom work and can take an existing piece and update it for you. While this is more expensive than doing it yourself because you are paying them for their time and labor, it is still relatively inexpensive compared to new furniture prices.
Buying high-quality, sustainably built furniture
Yes, this is a more expensive option. But this is a perfect example of how you get what you pay for. Pieces are made to last and will do just that with proper care. Often they are made in the United States, where regulations are more strict. But you still need to do your research to see where these companies are sourcing their materials and what their sustainability practices are.
Renting furniture
This is a great option for short-term living arrangements. It makes sense to not put a lot of time or money into furnishing a space you won’t be in for long, but heading to the nearest IKEA for some cheap pieces isn’t the answer either. Consider renting furniture – I recommend googling furniture rentals to see what options are available near you.
Other Helpful articles:
- Learn How to Paint Furniture
- Choosing the Perfect Paint Color for Furniture
- Learn to Reupholster a Chair Seat
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