How eco-friendly is Crate & Barrels eco-friendly furniture?
Metropolis magazine has a number of articles on furniture design, and they take a pretty “green” stance on things, so if reading those articles and studying for the LEED exam qualifies me as an expert, I’d look for the following things from a truly “eco-friendly” piece of furniture. C&B’s material selection is a start. Ideally, you’d want something that also has a very low factor of VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emittance, which typically comes from the glue used in processed wood products (plywood, particle board). They’re also quite prevalent in older methods of laying down sheet flooring or thinset tiles; again, this is basically glue. I think vinyl itself also emits VOCs, but even if it doesn’t, it’s petroleum-based, which means that it requires oil extraction to be produced. Since the filling on the C&B couches is petroleum-based, I’d bet it’s some sort of vinyl compound, like PVC (polyvinyl chloride) foam or something. I’d also want something where the construction of the objec
