Sustainability Measures By Our Vendors

by Nick, Digital Specialist | July 25, 2020

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important to both our customers and the manufacturers that supply our furniture. We are finding more and more of our clients asking about what steps are being taken with the environment in mind; after all, it’s the only one we have! Here are a few highlights from some of our top vendors about what eco-friendly they’re doing to protect our planet.

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important to both our customers and the manufacturers that supply our furniture. We are finding more and more of our clients asking about what steps are being taken with the environment in mind; after all, it’s the only one we have! Here are a few highlights from some of our top vendors about what eco-friendly they’re doing to protect our planet.

Ashley Furniture: Every year, Ashley recycles 280,000 tons of wood by-products, 1,500 tons of metal, and over 540 trailers of cardboard. By installing Auxiliary Power Units (APUs), their delivery fleet is reducing emissions and fuel consumption. They are implementing sustainable practices in their factories and distributing hundreds of trees to plant.

Bassett Furniture: Bassett Furniture is committed to the conservation of our natural resources by minimizing waste and reducing energy consumption. They view this endeavor as good business practice, and their responsibility to future generations. They are proud to say that in 2019, they recycled over 2,200 tons of recyclable items from their corporate facilities. This includes everything from packing materials, shipping pallets, and finishing materials to wood dust and unused fabrics. Further, they plant two trees for every Bench*Made product sold- over 22,800 trees planted in 2019!

Craftmaster Furniture: As part of their ongoing commitment to their environmental initiatives, Craftmaster offers the Earthcare Inside program, featuring environmentally friendly products designed with you in mind. This program embraces components created from renewable or recycled materials, products that have a smaller environmental footprint while maintaining the highest quality and value. They are also a member of the EFEC (Enhancing Furniture’s Environmental Culture). As a member of EFEC, an environmental management program developed by the American Home Furnishings Association (AHFA) to help create and maintain a strong and proactive environmental program within the industry, they are proud to practice the following initiatives: recycle waste (fabric, paper, plastic metal); active energy conservation plan; soy-based cushions; reformulated wood finishes.

Hooker Furniture: On behalf of future generations, Hooker Furniture commits to be a good steward of the environment through sustainable business practices that help preserve the Earth’s beauty and resources. Some of their environmental goals include: reduction of air and greenhouse gas emissions; utilization of alternative fuels for a cleaner environment; conservation of natural resources by saving energy, reducing water consumption, recycling, and using recycled materials; utilization of services and expertise around the world to assist in the development of solutions to environmental problems; participation in community events to enable our communities to learn and work towards a cleaner/healthier place to live; and developing and measuring of compliance programs to ensure all environmental regulations are being followed.

International Furniture Direct: Over the last five years, IFD has been vertically integrating its company by adding several automatic mills, enabling them to source different species of woods. This keeps their raw material sourcing unique and their product line fresh. IFD also recently purchased dozens of acres of Mango tree farmlands that were no longer productive for the food industry and turned them into beautiful furniture pieces. By taking advantage of other industries’ by-products, they lower the impact on our environment. This wood has a beautiful grain and its natural color varies depending on the richness of the soil where each tree grows.

Implemented in 2016, IFD’s reforestation project is privately funded by International Furniture Direct and grown on factory-owned land. The current project will allow for trees to be harvested as early as eight years and every year after. IFD has hired local experts to run the project that is planting 45,000 trees every year for at least 14 years. Tree species include: parota, mahogany, habillo, rosewood, and primavera.

Vaughan-Bassett: Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Company is committed to manufacturing its furniture in a responsible and environmentally-friendly manner. Through its “One for One” program, Vaughan-Bassett has contributed 150,000 tree seedlings in 2007 to the Virginia Department of Forestry.

Since 2007, over 1 million trees have been planted by the Virginia Department of Forestry through this program. Bettina Ring, a Virginia state forester, writes, “Your idea to plant one new tree in Virginia for every tree you harvest each year is sustainability at its best.”

Vaughan-Bassett is a leader in the “Buy Local” movement. Over 99 percent of its lumber comes from within 500 miles of its factories- 80 percent from within 200 miles, reducing the carbon footprint associated with the transport of primary raw materials.