from sustainable shopping to spending the afternoon with Attenborough…
there’s a whole world of ways to celebrate Earth Day at home.
The year is 1970. One brave American Senator fends off a firewall of sceptics, naysayers and lobbyists to get the very first Earth Day off the ground. For the first time ever, environmental issues take the front page, and a fresh sense of change begins to fill the air.
Fast-forward to today, and Earth Day has become the world’s biggest non-religious annual event. More than a billion people take part every year, doing their bit to affect change on the local level and beyond. From public beach and park cleanups to online teaching sessions and impassioned political rallies – Earth Day has become far more than just a symbolic occasion.
As home furnishing specialists, we thought we’d celebrate Earth Day by sharing our take on how to celebrate from within our own four walls. Whether it’s opting for greener choices in our decor, making our online carts that bit more sustainable, or simply devoting some time for self-education – there are tons of ways to have a fruitful Earth Day without moving mountains.
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Did you know that the UK throws away 22 million pieces of furniture every year? It’s a world-rocking figure, reflecting a society where thriftiness has been cast aside. We’ve all heard of fast fashion and its whopping 10% share of global carbon emissions (as much as all of Europe combined) – but it’s high time we started knocking on the door of fast furniture.
There are plenty of ways you can go about making your online cart that bit greener. When buying furniture, stick with high quality pieces that you won’t have to go throwing out sooner than you should.
Look for sturdy, sustainable materials – pine wood, MDF, steel, iron and zinc, to name a few – that will last for years in your home if looked after properly.
Another great way to celebrate Earth Day from home is by shopping with outlets that have some eco-mindful strategies in place. Every business and person creates a carbon footprint to some extent, but there are plenty of companies out there making a genuine effort to offset their environmental impact.
We’ve recently partnered with Ecologi to do our bit by planting a tree with every order. So, with every furn.com purchase, you’ll be helping us fight climate change – one tree at a time. Ecologi plants trees in the areas that need them most, from Madagascar to Kenya, and employs local villagers with a full livable wage.
We’ve set ourselves a target of 50 thousand trees by the end of 2023, and we’re well on track to reach it. Our furn.com forest is growing bigger by the day, and we’ve already managed to plant almost 10 thousand trees on the journey so far.
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Of the mountains of home furnishings that end up in UK landfills every year, textiles make up a whopping 310 thousand tonnes. Yep, that’s hundreds of thousands of tonnes of cotton, wool, silk and linen that could have been sold, reused or donated. Our throwaway textile culture is quickly spiraling out of control, and it’s about time we cut the cord.
One of the easiest ways to make your decor more sustainable is by using recycled materials wherever you can. They use far less resources and time than newly manufactured furnishings, while providing the exact same quality at a more affordable price. Our recycled collection is brimming with sustainably sweet decor pieces, from REPREVE fabric cushions to 100% recycled outdoor rugs.
REPREVE is the world’s leading recycled fabric brand, using recycled PET plastic bottles to produce durable polymer fibres. So far, they’ve recycled over 37 billion bottles (yep, that’s billion with a b), and transformed them into everything from water-repellant phone cases to fire-resistant sofas.
But fear not – just because you’re embracing sustainable design doesn’t mean that non-recycled furnishings are off the table. There’s a host of organic materials and eco-friendly fabrics out there that you can make use of in your decor, all while keeping your conservational conscience clear.
Rattan is one of the world’s quickest growing tropical woods, and can be sustainably harvested to make robust furniture that’ll last in your home for years. Its natural strength and organic look mean that rattan doesn’t need any heavy lacquers or varnishing during production, avoiding the release of harmful VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) that’s become part of the furniture with other wood options.
Look out for funky rattan mirrors, tables and other furniture if you're looking to make your furniture that bit more sustainable. It’s the perfect way to bring a chic organic touch to your home, while ticking tons of biodiverse boxes.
Want to go fully-fledged earth-friendly with a fusion of organic materials? Many of our outdoor rugs are made from 100% recycled plastic, and we’ve got plenty of biodegradable jute and bamboo pieces too.
There’s so much talk, tension and turbulence around the climate these days that it can become tough to see the wood for the trees. We’ve all got our part to play, but it’s important that our efforts are focused on the right areas. This year’s Earth Day theme is ‘Invest In Our Planet’ – and putting our time and attention into learning about the climate is one of the most important ways we can celebrate.
The official Earth Day website is teeming with reliable news and information on the current climate situation. You can read about all the official campaigns, search for Earth Day events happening near you, and even watch the full collection of Earth Week Live webinars and educational videos. Brush up on your eco-expertise with handy educational toolkits on everything from bee conservation to sustainable fashion, and test yourself with the exciting selection of Earth Day quizzes. It’s a great website that offers a lot of resources and information for free, so make sure to give it a look.
If all that clicking and scrolling starts to feel stale, there’s always the old reliable of a mind-blowing climate documentary. Attenborough aficionados are spoiled for choice as always, with his new Wild Isles series offering great insight into the extraordinary wildlife that makes its home right alongside us here in the UK.
Further afield, Earth.org has recently published a list of its 21 best environmental films of 2023. It’s a healthy mix that avoids going full doom and gloom, and provides a few refreshingly solution-focused options if you’d rather keep the climate anxiety at bay.
shop our 100% recycled collection.
