Most furniture is made of resource-intensive materials, using adhesives that contribure to poor indoor air quality, assembled in factories located far from the end user, then shipped to a retailer or warehouses, then finally shipped to your home. Lots of shipping from A to Z.

Finding eco-friendly furniture is one of the more difficult challenges for those wanting to green up their homes. Probably the most green thing you can do is to refurbish your old furniture, buy used furniture, or find furniture made locally of sustrainable materials.

The next best thing is to look for products made from recycled materials or FSC certified wood; having "green" upholstery; safety from an indoor-air-quality standpoint; design-for-disassembly and refurbishment or recycling; and avoiding materials with high environmental burdens (brominated flame retardants, plasticizers, PVC, etc.).