Knowing that you can make a difference is the first step of every major endeavor.
The major rule is to PRIORITIZE. If you do that, you can live with decisions you make happily.
When someone decides that they need to shop at Walmart- and we all do and we all should-because money is their top priority then I absolutely agree that it is their best choice. But if you can buy a product made in the United States and you still manage to buy one made in China..then you are not, in my estimation making the smart choice.
But you have to know what is IMPORTANT to you because the rules of environmentally based options are: that you have to choose. What may be good in one way may be equally damaging in another.
For instance, I have many mothers ask me how to avoid furniture and bedding that are treated with fire-retardant chemicals. These treatments are mandated by Law in most states. And maybe it is my age, but I remember why we made those laws. So absent a health risk to the child from exposure to those chemicals it is hard for me recommend that course of action.
CHOOSE YOUR PRIORITY
ORGANIC-
SUSTAINABILITY
FAIRNESS and FAIR TRADE
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ECONOMIC
ORGANIC – a lifestyle choice
Organic furniture and bedding are made of all Natural and non synthetic materials.
They have a less aggressive carbon footprint mostly because they are produced locally and do not need to be transported.
Organic furniture does not require the use of FORMALDEHYDE and therefore has no outgassing.
If you are thinking about going totally Organic, consider avoiding the soft woods like Pine and Cedar which outgass Terpenes, which are not toxic but can cause an allergic reaction. Or limit exposure to cedar by limiting it to the interior of drawers and chests to avoid the use of Mothballs which are toxic and dangerous.
SUSTAINABLE – the smart choices option
Sustainable furniture is made and sold using Practices that promote sustaining our planet.
This would include re-use or reclaiming wood.
Intelligent harvesting of new raw materials in compliance with FSC guidelines.
Fair Practices and Wages for people in the industry
Awareness of the cost globally of transportation of products
ECONOMIC – the political perspective
This category is the nearest to my heart because to me it carries generational challenges. For me, the greatest economic question is whether we can make the choice to Buy American. To my mind, we cannot afford the luxury of saving a few dollars for our personal home at the cost of American jobs and our tax base. And that is the positive side. If you contemplate the cost of unemployment in our Country on top of that. You cannot make a sound argument for importing goods that have been the mainstay of the American economy for generations – like furniture.
Every month another small furniture manufacturer goes out of business. There are no new jobs for the workers in those plants. They carry with them generational knowledge of how to produce good quality, well-built furniture and that knowledge will be lost. Yes, the plants are sometimes stifling in the summer. But ask any of the men and women that work there if they would rather have a few bad months of a job or career of unemployment.
There are also many problems associated with the less expensive and expendable nature of imported goods. If your sofa or bed or dining room is only expected to last you a few years, you will be buying a piece that is constructed in the easiest and fastest way possible. That is how they keep the price down. Those practices are synonymous with toxins from glues, plastics and processed wood products, not to mention what will be required to replace it. It is interesting that much of the new “modern” furniture is designed and manufactured to make the greatest use of the technology that the very generation that buys it espouses not to support. In its purest definition, the piece of mahogany furniture at the Flea Market has the least carbon footprint, the least amount of outgassing and the has the longest life expectancy cutting down on all those things which would be required to replace it.
GOREDEAN Green cannot tag every piece made in America as being environmentally GREEN. But we wish we could. We do attempt when possible to tag them as American made. Because we believe that the economic environment is inextricably linked to the environment as a whole.
FAIRNESS and FAIR TRADE
On their website the World Fair Trade Organization defines ten standards of fair trade, which are a very good place to begin to get a more concrete picture of what exactly fair trade means. Here is a slightly condensed version:
Standard One: Creating Opportunities for Economically Disadvantaged Producers
Poverty reduction through trade forms a key part of the organization’s aims. The organization supports marginalized small producers, whether these are independent family businesses, or grouped in associations or co-operatives.
Standard Two: Transparency and Accountability
The organization is transparent in its management and commercial relations. The communication channels are good and open at all levels of the supply chain.
Standard Three: Trading Practices
The organization trades with concern for the social, economic and environmental well-being of marginalized small producers and does not maximize profit at their expense.
Standard Four: Payment of a Fair Price
A fair price is one that has been mutually agreed by all through dialogue and participation, which provides fair pay to the producers and can also be sustained by the market.
Standard Five: Child Labour and Forced Labour
The organization adheres to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and national / local law on the employment of children.
Standard Six: Non Discrimination, Gender Equity and Freedom of Association
The organization provides opportunities for women and men to develop their skills and actively promotes applications from women for job vacancies and for leadership positions in the organization. The organization takes into account the special health and safety needs of pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers.
Standard Seven: Working Conditions The organization provides a safe and healthy working environment for employees and / or members. It complies, at a minimum, with national and local laws and ILO conventions on health and safety.
Standard Eight: Capacity Building
The organization develops the skills and capabilities of its own employees or members.
Standard Nine: Promotion of Fair Trade
The organization provides its customers with information about itself, the products it markets, and the producer organizations or members that make or harvest the products. Honest advertising and marketing techniques are always used.
Standard Ten: Environment
Organizations which produce Fair Trade products maximize the use of raw materials from sustainably managed sources in their ranges, buying locally when possible.
GoreDean has over the years had many products that were the result of WFTO start ups. We will begin tagging these products with a Do Good logo in the coming year.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Like sustainability, but with a greater degree of urgency about how things are transported. The carbon foot print of bringing furniture from China, for instance would outweigh any savings from lower wages and manufacturing costs.
Proper harvesting of wood and cotton. You can learn more about this from the FSC.
FSC is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests.
http://www.fsc.org
GOREDEAN GREEN Tags are given to furniture that carries the FSC label. However, it needs to be pointed out that forestry practices outside of the United States still carry the carbon footprint of transportation here.
