By promoting environmentally friendly practices and providing a sustainable alternative for wood furniture buyers, we hope to do our part to help preserve and protect one of our planet’s more valuable resources.
Forests, rich in biodiversity, thick in oxygen, and natural filters of greenhouse gases (GHG) like carbon dioxide. In one year, one single tree sequesters 48 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and turns it into oxygen. The amount of oxygen that is released through this process every year, is roughly 260 pounds per tree.
Furniture: we all come in contact with it every single day. Whether at our home, out in the park, on the sidewalks, or your place of work, chances are you probably saw a table, bench, desk, chair, and other furnishings throughout your day. But have you ever thought about where all of these items go once we are ‘done’ with them?
Well, let’s start off by saying it is the classic tale of the fast fashion industry: mass-produced items that are cheaply made and built to break, but this time it’s about furniture.
Why Fast Furniture is a Problem
Although furniture gives off the perception that it is made to last, most furniture today is made with cheap material, like particleboard, that isn’t durable and is incredibly toxic with chemical resin and plastic coating.
For instance, let’s look at a standard office cubicle. Alone that cubical represents anywhere from 300 to 700 pounds of waste, with the majority of it being complex products – meaning it is non-recyclable – due to the fact it is made up of different materials like metal, wood, particleboard, and plastic.
So if that is just one cubicle, what about all the furniture we have in our homes? How can we support a more sustainable system for furniture?
First things first, we can educate ourselves about the negative effects the fast furniture industry has on the environment. This way, we feel empowered to make more mindful purchasing decisions.
Sustainably managing forests is nothing new in Vermont. According to the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, 75% of the landmass in our state is forest land. Over 2,000 businesses in the state rely on those forests to generate ~$1.5B in annual revenue.
“Vermont’s forest products industry generates an annual economic output of $1.5 billion and supports 10,000 jobs in forestry, logging, processing, specialty woodworking, construction, and wood heating. In addition, Vermont’s forest recreation economy (skiing, etc) generates another $1.9 billion in economic output, and supports 10,000 additional jobs.” – VSJF
Despite all the economic activity dependent on our forests, they’re still growing in size and density.
At Vermont Woods Studios we were founded on an environmental mission: forest and wildlife conservation. We all grew up learning about monarchs in school. Now as adults we work to conserve their habitat here in Vermont and in Mexico where the butterflies over-winter (see above). The 2020-2021 Monarch Butterfly Report shows we have a lot of work to do.
By managing our own forest here in Vermont since 2013, we have witnessed the beautiful harmony of a healthy ecosystem. When Vermont Woods Studios outgrew the spare bedroom in Peggy’s home, our team searched for a permanent home. Above all, our goal was to find a space that would reflect the values of the company and offer a home to showcase the works of Vermont’s finest furniture craftsmen. After a long search, we found Stonehurst. As you can imagine, we love every minute we get to spend out in our forest!
2020 was a crazy year for all of us but looking back, we actually got a lot done. Here’s the run down…
We Learned How to Zoom & #WFH
When the seriousness of the pandemic became clear, we made significant changes to facilitate and implement a work-from-home #WFH strategy. We owe a big debt of gratitude to Brian, who helped facilitate a smooth transition to remote work, implementing new technology solutions like Slack, Zoom, and AirCall to ensure we maintained communication both within the organization as well as with customers. Read More
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As the saying goes, ‘it’s the most wonderful time of the year.’ The warmth and cheer that the holiday season brings every year are in full swing, but so is the trash. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s day, there is a 25% increase in landfill waste produced. From glittered holiday cards to plastic decorations and single-use casserole dishes, our trash bins begin to get fuller as the holiday season begins to evolve. At Vermont Woods Studios, you know how much we love trees and want to repopulate the forest; that’s why we plant trees for every purchase made. When we found out that 15 million Christmas trees end up in landfills every year across the United States, in addition to the 25% increase in landfill waste, we know we had to do something. Below are our top tips for you to have a zero waste holiday!
We are grateful to Susan Inglis, Executive Director of the Sustainable Furnishings Council SFC. The wood furniture scorecard evaluation is part of her commitment to promoting environmental excellence in the furniture industry.
As you might have already heard, our founder Peggy is a big advocate for forest and species conservation. In 2005, after struggling to raise money for her non-profit Kids Saving the Planet, she decided to start a company driven by a mission to save endangered species by conserving their habitats. Lo and behold, the birth of Vermont Woods Studios!
One day, Peggy read about Jose Luis Alvarez and the work he was doing through Forests for Monarchs. After reading about his work, Peggy decided to reach out since they had aligned values in forest conservation and restoring the monarch butterfly. Since Vermont Woods Studios is a mission driven company, Peggy felt a partnership with Jose and Forests For Monarchs (FFM) would amplify the message and work around the importance of conserving the monarchs. Years later, we are still putting in the hard work with Jose and his team to Save The Monarchs.
