Green Furniture Manufacturing

Sustainability has become a central strategy for most modern businesses. Today, sustainability more or less means environmentally friendly or “green”.  Solid wood furniture manufacturers have an especially difficult task at achieving sustainability since their business depends on wood resources.  This poses the question, “How does a wood furniture manufacturing business become sustainable?”  The answer is relatively simple, but to implement the sustainable business strategy requires a lot of collaboration and foresightedness.

One would assume that a manufacturer that needs to cut down trees in order to run their business would not be able to come up with a sustainable business plan.  In realty, cutting down trees is exactly the opposite of being environmentally friendly.  However, a company can achieve sustainability if their environmental footprint balances out.  Therefore, green furniture manufacturers plant new trees for every tree that they cut down.  Seems rather simple, but when you think about how long it takes trees to grow, the business strategy must include about a 15 year supply of trees in order to give new trees ample time to grow before they are needed.  This can present uncertainties into the equation when demand for your furniture cannot be predicted 5 or 10 years down the road.  Generally speaking, a green manufacturer likely will take on expensive costs up front in order to plan 15 years down the road which are based on a lot of uncertain factors.  Ultimately, green furniture manufacturers have a difficult task when mapping out resources for a sustainable business model.

Costs for the sustainable business plan increase significantly since green business models usually involve eco-friendly processes.  Manufacturers must be sure not to destroy habitats for endangered species.  They make the extra effort to work around delicate wildlife areas and be sure that they have a workforce that will replace whatever resources they extracted.  The workforce for green manufacturers is therefore larger than those of businesses without a team dedicated to sustainability tactics.

In the end, the collaboration required to have workers cutting, while others build, and more replant takes time.  In business, time means money.  For the most part, owners of green manufacturing businesses have a certain level of respect for the environment.  It is not just because of a business mindset that they practice green strategies.  This is clearly seen by manufacturers that go above and beyond to exceed government sustainability regulations, as opposed to those that merely meet them, or claim exemption from them.

One example of a green furniture manufacturer is Harden.  Harden manufactures everything from solid wood bedroom furniture, dining room and living room furniture, and storage to upholstery and finishes. They received Silver Exemplary Status from the Sustainable Furnishings Council in 2008 and accreditation from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.  Harden not only replants 1 tree for each one they extract for manufacturing, but they also reduced electrical energy consumption and carbon emissions through the use of more efficient and cleaner manufacturing equipment and processes.  Ultimately, Harden has paid a little more for their sustainable business strategy and gone the extra mile to deliver customers beautiful, environmentally friendlier, solid wood furniture that is built to last a lifetime.