Some common EARTHDECO questions we've heard
Q: What sort of products do you carry?
A: We carry products that are:
1. Beautiful,
interesting, artful, fun, unique designs that you can't find anywhere else in the area
2. Of the finest construction and highest quality
3. Produced in an environmentally and socially
sustainable manner (see below for more on that issue)
4. Come from designers, workshops, and factories
who run their own businesses with a philosophy similar to ours.
Q: What does "sustainable" mean, and what are sustainable home furnishings?
A: "Sustainability"
means meeting today's needs without compromising the needs of the future. In other words, it means leaving the world
a better (or at least not worse) place than you found it. We at EarthDeco take a comprehensive view, incorporating economic,
social, and environmental sustainability into everything we do. When it comes to furniture and home decor, there are
a number of issues related to environmental sustainability:
1. The materials in our products are renewable, reclaimed,
recycled, or harvested in a certified sustainable manner, such as Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood. Strong preference
is given to natural materials. Any synthetic materials used in paddings and finishes do not produce harmful fumes from "off-gassing".
2. Carbon emissions from shipping, transportation, and travel are kept to a minimum, and are offset with investments
in renewable energy and re-forestation.
3. Energy use is kept to a minimum in our operations. Our gallery is powered
with 100% solar electricity.
4. Solid waste is kept to a minimum through reusing, recycling, minimizing packaging,
and using earth-friendly packing and shipping materials.
5. We try to educate our clients, business
partners, and the general public about these issues wherever we can. We ask tough questions of the furniture manufacturers
who create our products, and we're proud members of the Sustainable Furniture Council (SFC), the industry's premier
association to promote sustainable practices. When making our own purchases, we give preference to SFC members.
We also use a significant portion of our marketing budget to promote our sustainability message.
Q: Why the name?
A: We wanted people to understand immediately that this is a business that is 100% committed
to environmental conservation, and what better word to use than "Earth"? We also wanted a word that would immediately
implies what we're about, i.e. design and decorating.
Trevor had well over 1,000 names in
a tattlered little sprial-bound notebook that we were considering, and we went back and forth for months. We eliminated
most of them purely out of practical considerations. Is the name already in use? Is it trademarked? Is there a
website domain name available? Is it pronounceable and easy to spell? Will we be able to speak the name quickly
when answering the phone?
We were seriously considering several names starting with the word "green",
but frankly, as much as we like and respect chlorophyll, it seems half the businesses in Vermont (the state about 100 yards
to the west of our gallery) start with the word "green". Besides, we love the color blue. And the Earth
is blue.
Finally, Trevor has a passion for Art Deco and the philosophy behind it. A few of the
items in our opening line are Deco-inspired. Asian-Deco (think Shanghai 1920's), sunburst motifs (a la Radio City),
inlaid wood -- sustainably harvested, of course -- lustruous metals (recycled), mixed natural and industrial materials, and
bold patterns and forms, opulent and retro, but streamlined and modern. Plus, the whole idea of the original Deco movement
was futurist, internationalist, confident, optimistic, and had an emphasis on making the world better and more beautiful through
rational solutions, hard work, and the appropriate use of technology. Even if most of our pieces aren't specifically
Deco in style, this philosophy is largely what EarthDeco is all about.
Q. Why is it important to consider environmental sustainability when purchasing home furnishings?
A. The answer
is in our tagline: for people, for the planet.
First, consider human health and safety. Certain furniture
paints and finishes, some textiles used in covers, and some paddings and stuffings used for cushions and pillows contain
toxic volatile gas-emitting compounds such as Formaldehyde that contribute significantly to poor indoor air quality.
Some of these materials are also dangerous when ingested (lead paint, such as that used on some children's toys imported
from China recently is just the beginning). Some furniture manufacturers also use toxic gas-emitting glues. Cheaply
made furniture that uses MDF or fiber-board is made by grinding up wood and then glueing small pieces back together to form
a solid, so these items have very large amounts of glue and other toxic chemicals. Just think how intimate we are with
our furniture. We sit on it, eat on it, sleep on it. Our kids play on and around it. It literally fills
our homes. Do you really want it to be chock full of toxic chemicals?
Second, consider the health of the
environment. The furniture and home furnishings industry has, to date, been a major contributor to deforestation and
habitat destruction, illegal logging, climate change, and the spread of noxious invasive species into otherwise pristine forests.
Also, all those toxic compounds mentioned above collectively emit many tons of carbon into the atmosphere.
Furniture
and home furnishings collectively are perhaps the largest (both physically and financially) purchases we make other than a
house itself. Just think how much of an impact all that stuff that's in all of our houses makes on the environment
and on indoor air quality. However, it can either have a negative or a positive impact: the choice is ours.
EarthDeco home furnishings use reclaimed, recycled, and sustainably harvested natural materials, and contain no toxic volatile
compounds. On top of all that, they're beautiful, interesting, unique, and of the finest construction and highest
quality.
Q: How do you know that your products really are environmentally and socially sustainable?
A: It's not easy
as a small retail operation. First, we ask tough questions of our suppliers, and we deal only with those we trust to
be open and honest and ethical. Second, we look for third-party certifications such as the Forest Stewardship Council
or the Sustainable Furniture Council. Third, we do our research of the literature as much as possible. Fourth,
we try to visit as many of our workshops and factories as we can, to meet the owners, the reps, the managers, and the workers.
In fact, we spend about 2 months out of the year doing just that. You can tell a lot about how a business is run by
seeing how clean a factory is, whether workers have safety equipment, whether waste is disposed of properly, and by seeing
whether people see generally happy to be working there. You can also learn a lot just by sitting down to dinner with
the owners. It's not possible for us to visit all of our suppliers all over the world and simultaneously run a retail
store, but we are doing the best we can. Fifth, we can control how we run our own business, and we do everything we
can to make sure we're operating in a responsible and sustainable manner. And finally, we're always looking
for ways to improve. If you have any further ideas, we'd love to hear them. Please contact us.
Q: Where do your products come from?
A: EarthDeco was created to be a model for sustainable global trade,
and we wanted to emphasize that global commitment in our product seletion. Right now, we have pieces from Thailand,
India, Turkey, Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, China, Germany, and the United States, and we're always looking
for more.
