Home / Blog / The Environmental Benefit…

The Environmental Benefits of Re-upholstery

We all know that we should be doing more to protect the environment. Everything we do, from the fuel we use in our cars to the energy source we use to light and heat our homes, will have an impact on the environment

How much of an impact is something that concerns many people, including the scientific community and the ordinary person on the street.

A revival

In some ways, there has been a return or a revival of some of the things from yesteryear. When money was in short supply, people had to look after their things. With the rise of consumerism from the 1950s onwards in Britain, when something was broken, we simply replaced it with a bigger, better item.

This meant goods were manufactured relatively cheaply but, the quality was far lower than people had seen previously.

In many ways, this applies to furniture. When the sofa seemed to be past its best, we went out and bought another one. And we did this again. And again.

Some of these items may have been sold on as second hand goods or donated to charity but, the likelihood is that some, if not all of the various components would have ended up in landfill.

Re-upholstering - the friendly environmental option

 

Many people assume that only older pieces of furniture can be upholstered because the frame and build quality is assumed to be higher. This may be the case but some modern day furniture is of a high quality too.

In fact, the environmental benefits of re-upholstery are numerous:

• Items can be given a new lease of life with the old covering removed and replaced with a new choice of fabric
• By not getting rid of your old item, there is less being sent to landfill
• Re-upholstery is not just about a new top layer, it also includes repairing or improving the frame of an item
• Cushion filling and padding is often replaced too, if needed
• Using natural upholstery fabrics such as wool is also more environmentally friendly as they are a natural by-product of sheep; there is no manufacturing process that use scarce resources such as oil in plastics and vinyl
• It is a way of breathing new life into an heirloom, giving it a modern twist and adding to its history
• In many cases, re-upholstery is just as cost-effective as 'throwing away and buying new'

If you are considering re-upholstering an item or two, you will also find that you have a far wider choice of fabrics from which to choose presenting you with a great opportunity to create something unique. Even better, is knowing that your choices of furniture are not contributing to landfill nor having too big an adverse impact on the environment.