Indoor Air Quality

The primary reason our customers choose organic furniture is to improve indoor air indoor quality in the home and office.

Furniture created from artificial materials offgas toxins, which become trapped inside the home and accumulate over time. Toxins enter the bloodstream through breathing, and (to a lesser extent) through contact with the skin. The human detoxification system can only remove so many of these toxins from the bloodstream, which allows them to build up inside your body:

[T]ests revealed that their children -- Rowan, then 18 months, and Mikaela, then 5 -- had chemical exposure levels up to seven times those of their parents. “[Rowan's] been on this planet for 18 months, and he's loaded with a chemical I've never heard of," Holland, 37, said. "He had two to three times the level of flame retardants in his body that's been known to cause thyroid dysfunction in lab rats." Source: CNN

Babies and young children are more susceptible to indoor air toxins than adults, as they are smaller and still physically developing.

Poorly constructed furniture is not the largest contributor to poor indoor air quality, but it is one of the most easily preventable. Furniture created from artificial woods is generally replaced at least once every 10 years because it doesn’t hold up well, and cannot be easily repaired. Each time this furniture is replaced, a new suite of toxins is introduced into the home to begin offgassing anew.

We clearly disclose all of the materials used in our furniture. We create furniture with solid hardwoods, a variety of wood finishes, and organic upholstery options.

Environmental Impact

The second reason our customers choose green furniture is to reduce their impact on the environment.

The differences here aren’t as distinct. Artificial wood furniture can be created from sustainably cut wood, glued together into plywood sheets, and manufactured into furniture. This process can be quite ‘green’. However, this process is only a small part of the furniture’s overall lifecycle.

Planned Obsolescence: Furniture created from manufactured 'fake' wood begins showing its age after just a few years, as composite wood cannot be repaired or refinished. Replacing this furniture requires the use of all new materials; this creates a large amount of waste.

Carbon Footprint: Mass-produced 'green furniture' created from artificial wood is generally created in Asia, shipped to West Coast warehouses, and shipped from these warehouses to distribution centers and/or stores in other parts of the country. This shipping has a substantial carbon impact.

Our organic furniture is created from locally grown hardwoods, and is shipped only once: directly from the community where it is made to the customer. We offer heirloom quality furniture that is designed to outlast the owner, so that it can be passed down to the next generation. This reduces the carbon footprint and environmental impact of our furniture.

American Made Furniture

The third reason our customers choose organic furnishings is to support locally owned and operated American businesses.

The solid hardwoods used in our furniture are locally grown and harvested in the Upper Midwest. Most is harvested from land within 50 miles of the Amish craftsmen we work with in Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin. Our practices employ Midwestern farmers with hilly sections of their land set aside for selective hardwood harvesting, tree farms, and sawmill operators. Hardwoods are the largest single expense/component of our furniture.

We also utilize high quality metal hardware and wood finishes, most of which are manufactured here in America.

Purchasing our pieces employs Amish craftsmen and their assistants, who create furniture in their own workshops to supplement their farming income. This allows them to stay connected to the land.

Formaldehyde

The most common toxin in artificial wood furniture is formaldehyde, which is:

[A] colorless, pungent-smelling gas, can cause watery eyes, burning sensations in the eyes and throat, nausea, and difficulty in breathing in some humans exposed at elevated levels (above 0.1 parts per million). High concentrations may trigger attacks in people with asthma. There is evidence that some people can develop a sensitivity to formaldehyde. It has also been shown to cause cancer in animals and may cause cancer in humans. Health effects include eye, nose, and throat irritation; wheezing and coughing; fatigue; skin rash; severe allergic reactions. May cause cancer." Source: US Environmental Protection Agency

Formaldehyde is a major contributor to poor indoor air quality. The amount of formaldehyde in furniture strongly correlates to the amount of glue used in a piece. Furniture created from cheap composite wood contains significant amounts of glue – the lower the quality of the composite wood, the more formaldehyde it will contain.

There are few regulations regarding formaldehyde in furniture sold in America; we have become a prime destination for toxic plywood and furniture:

Because formaldehyde wafts off the glues in this plywood, it is illegal to sell in many countries -- even the one where it originated, China. But in the United States this wood is legal, and it is routinely crafted into cabinets and furniture. As the European Union and other nations have tightened their environmental standards, mostly in the last two years, manufacturers -- here and around the world -- are selling goods to U.S. consumers that fail to meet other nations' stringent laws for toxic chemicals. Source: LA Times

Organic furniture created from solid hardwoods contains a small amount of glue (in the joinery), but the amount of glue used is significantly less than pressed wood furniture.

We use limited amounts of artificial wood in our furniture, such as the rear panel of dressers (the side that faces the wall). All of our panels are formaldehyde-free.

Terpenes

Furniture created from softwoods like pine or cedar outgases terpenes, which are chemically active compounds that slowly offgas into the home. Terpenes are not toxic, but can produce an allergic reaction or become an irritant.

Our furniture contains no pine.

We use cedar in limited amounts, generally lining the interior of storage cabinets or chests. Cedar is a natural alternative to mothballs, which are toxic.

If there is one item in a home that we recommend be 100% natural and organic, it is the mattress.

Standard mattresses are generally created from a core of polyurethane foam. This is a manufactured material -- a petroleum-derived polymer. By itself it is fairly inert. However, polyurethane foam is a very flammable material and must be treated with a flame retardant.

It is important to note that there are no labeling requirements for mattresses. Your mattress may contain one or all of the following compounds.

PDBEs

PBDEs are brominated flame retardants, and were commonly used in mattresses created before 2005. The use of PBDEs in mattresses has since been phased out, but not entirely eliminated. Mattresses manufactured before 2005 are almost certain to contain PBDEs.

PDBEs bioaccumulate in the body, and can be passed onto children through the umbilical cord and through breast milk:

Research on PBDEs in laboratory animals link exposure to thyroid hormone disruption, permanent learning and memory impairment, decreased sperm count, fetal malformations, behavioral changes, hearing deficits and possibly cancer. Source: SF Chronicle

PDBEs are highly toxic and should not be allowed in your home, particularly in your bedroom. Sleeping on a mattress core containing PBDEs eight hours a day assures that the compound will enter your bloodstream.

Boric Acid

Boric acid is a relatively safe pesticide, but is not as benign when used as a fire retardant in mattresses:

Boric acid is generally known as a desiccant; in other words, it kills by removing the moisture from the body of the target pests, causing severe dehydration which will affect electrolyte metabolism with the potential of metabolic acidosis. In fact, boric acid is a stomach poison normally ingested, along with the fact that it can also enter the blood by inhalation. Boric acid is an acid. Acid will decrease the pH level with the possible side effects of renal, respiratory, and cardiovascular failure. Symptoms and signs of boric acid poisoning are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dysphagia, cold sweats, dyspnea, muscular debility, scarlatinal eruptions, subnormal temperature, cardiac weakness, cyanosis, coma, collapse, etc. Source: Mastiff Reporter

Boric acid has been used in mattresses since 1973, but its use was fairly limited until new Federal fireproofing regulations were introduced in 2007. It is now a common component in standard (non-organic) mattresses.

You can read an MSDS sheet for boric acid by clicking here.

Other Common Fire Retardants

Antimony, decabromodiphenyl oxide, ammonium polyphosphate, silica and melamine are commonly used in non-organic mattresses.

Please don’t take our word for it – type these keywords into google and find out for yourself.

It is important to remember that in all cases, there is a suitable replacement for these fire retardant chemicals: wool. Wool is a fire resistant, safe and 100% natural material.