There are currently no government or industry ‘green’ guidelines for home furnishings. DeBoer’s defines product as green that has one or more of the following criteria: made with wood from sustainable forests, low VOCs (volatile organic compounds), available in eco-friendly fibers, available with natural foam and/or produced in a facility that endeavors to minimize it’s impact on the environment. Products will be labeled with the applicable criteria so consumers can quickly identify which criteria are met for a particular item.
Every component of a product needs to be considered when determining whether or not it is ‘green’. The wood, glues, fasteners, finishes, foam, upholstery and anything else that goes into the product must be considered and, in some cases, reengineered for a product to be truly green.
