Nature.is

The Kid´s Room - Furniture

High quality furniture made from wood can often be changed and given a new purpose as the family grows up or as circumstances change. Old furniture is still often very useful after your family does not need it anymore. There is no reason to throw it away without considering other options.

The Icelandic “Good Shepherd”  (“Góði Hirðirinn”) which is the Sorpa utility market gladly accepts used furniture and gives it away to those who are in need. Utility containers are found on all Sorpa recycling stations and on the recycling stations of many municipalities. It is also possible to advertise the furniture for sale and to receive some cash or to give them away to friends or relatives. The very last and least used option should always be to throw the furniture away.

Our furniture consists of many different chemicals both from the plant and mineral kingdoms, such as from wood, metals, glass, fibers from plants, minerals and from the various synthetics. It is mainly them, that we have to have the eyes on. Not only can the evaporation of certain chemicals be detrimental to health, but the environmental impact can be immense. More than 100,000 chemicals are used in all kinds of production in the world today. Many have not been investigated sufficiently before they become part of the production process. It is also valid that some chemicals that are harmless at a certain level or in connection with other chemicals can be harmful otherwise.

If we take for example furniture made of wood, then it is important from an environmental standpoint, that the forest has been cultivated in a sustainable manner. Furniture labelled with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) label ismost certainly not made from rainforest wood, but from sustainable forests. Cork is considered one of the natural materials that is environmentally friendly, especially if it has been recycled from used cork. PVC – vinyl floor materials can, however, under no circumstances be considered healthy or environmentally friendly.

When buying furniture for the kid’s room it is advisable to buy durable and well-made products. As a buyer you have the right to know where the materials in the furniture come from, and how and where they were produced. Note that even the upholstery can contain toxic chemicals and that fake leather can contain PVC. It is not at all rude to ask questions while buying products. In order to change the products put on the market all consumers have to start asking questions and making demands, otherwise nothing will ever change.

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