What is the true cost of fast furniture?
We’re living in an age of products on demand – fast fashion1, fast delivery, and even fast furniture. Fast furniture is not just about a quickness of manufacturing, or ease of purchase, but also how quickly the materials deteriorate and must be replaced.
While not all furniture in the past was high quality, or even made with care, furniture was made from materials that were able to be reused, and even if a piece was passed on, there would be the possibility of reuse in the future, or of stripping it down to its constituent parts and finding a use for them.
Why is fast furniture so popular?
Fast furniture hasn’t gotten this popular without its advantages. The advent of cheap and easily available products has made design accessible and affordable for more people than ever. However, even if there isn’t always a monetary price tag, fast furniture has other costs, such as that it doesn’t last.
A lot of fast furniture is made from chipboard or particle board covered in a laminate, and those materials aren’t designed to handle the stress of regular and long term use. Once it breaks or starts to fall apart, there is little that can be done except for throw it away – and we throw away a huge amount of furniture. Handkrafted writes that in Sydney alone:
the equivalent of 800,000 three-seater sofas, 1.65 million dining tables, 3.4 million coffee tables or 6.85 million chairs, [are] thrown away every year.2
Much of this furniture ends up in street cleanups or council rubbish collection, but only a fraction of that which is placed out on the kerb finds a second home, with most of it ending up in landfill. When we think about every kilogram of timber waste in landfill having come from a tree at some point, we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of acres of forest. IKEA alone uses almost 1% of the world’s harvested timber3, a countless part of which ends up buried in the tip.
So what can we do to step away from the toxic cycle of fast furniture and get conscientious about how we purchase?
What to look out for to avoid fast furniture purchases
What does the price say: While a $150 table might look attractive on price tag alone, what you’re saving on purchase price comes at the cost of high quality materials, ethical labour, and a piece that will last for many years.
Are the materials sustainable: Not only does fast furniture not last long, but the materials are often made from a composite of natural and synthetic components, such as wood mixed with resins and glues. Think about when that item reaches the end of its life and is thrown away, what chemicals or substances will make their way into the environment as a result?
Are the materials reuseable: If you just need to get rid of that piece one day, can the parts be reused by someone to make something new and beautiful? Great options for this are solid timber and metal. However, be cautious of chipboard and particleboard, plastics, and resins, which may be difficult or impossible to recycle or reuse.
Buy for timeless style rather than fashion: It can be tempting to follow the latest trends and buy things that match the season, but this only gives us more things to throw away in time. Instead, focus on styles that are timeless, or work to cultivate a style of your own that you can develop throughout your life.
Buying from a local maker: A great way to keep materials as well as cash in your local economy is buying direct from someone near to you. There are so many excellent furniture makers and carpenters out there that the hardest thing can be making a decision of who to work with!
Buying second hand: If you’ve got your eye on a particular style or item, see if you can find it secondhand somewhere. Keep an eye out for pieces that fit other criteria in this list too: a solid timber table that’s second hand will be much easier to strip and refinish to match your kitchen than a chipboard and veneer one.
Upcycle your own: If you can’t find or afford the right piece for you, there are plenty of blogs and videos with advice on how to upcycle a piece for yourself. A fresh coat of timber oil or paint can make a huge difference to an old and tired piece of furniture. Even for little or no budget you can come away with a long-lasting and beautiful piece for your home.
Think for the future: Consider where this piece of furniture will end up in the future – is it something you wouldn’t want someone to have to use, or is it a piece you hope will be passed down through the generations as an heirloom?
It may seem like there’s a lot to consider, but it’s really just about thinking about how to purchase sustainably. You don’t need to give up on ethical or sustainable options for an affordable price tag. Second hand furniture is not only often high quality for a reasonable price, but a great investment for the future.
References
1Fast fashion: inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends
2 https://blog.handkrafted.com/landfill-australias-underground-furniture-movement/
3 https://www.rts.com/blog/furniture-waste-a-growing-issue/
