What are sustainable materials for furniture?

When considering eco-friendly furniture, here are some of the most sustainable materials to choose from: Wood: Sustainably sourced wood is renewable and reduces carbon within the workspace. All wooden furniture Saxen supplies is made from FSC-certified wood from sustainable forests. Vegetable fibres Vegetable fibres use no chemicals during the manufacturing process. This includes wicker, rattan, bamboo and cotton. Animal fibres Animal fibres, including wool and silk, from organic farms are also sustainable. Steel Steel is reusable, making it infinitely recyclable. Plus, it’s durable and easy to clean. Aluminium Aluminium, like steel, is infinitely recyclable. Recycling aluminium uses 95 percent less energy than making new aluminium<a value="https://www.astonaa.co.uk/about/news/why-is-aluminium-sustainable#:~:text=Aluminium%20can%20be%20recycled%20repeatedly,new%20aluminium%20from%20raw%20materials." label="" type="url" href="https://www.astonaa.co.uk/about/news/why-is-aluminium-sustainable#:~:text=Aluminium%20can%20be%20recycled%20repeatedly,new%20aluminium%20from%20raw%20materials." target="_blank" data-runtime-url="https://www.astonaa.co.uk/about/news/why-is-aluminium-sustainable#:~:text=Aluminium%20can%20be%20recycled%20repeatedly,new%20aluminium%20from%20raw%20materials.">⁽²⁾ . Recycled materials Making furniture from recycled materials is sustainable as you don’t have to source fresh materials.

Can furniture be environmentally friendly?

Designing eco-friendly furniture is a significant priority for many designers and brands. The good news is that furniture can be truly environmentally friendly when made from sustainable and renewable materials. Durable and high-quality furniture is important so that you aren’t replacing it regularly. This can lead to more manufacturing and a higher demand for new materials. You should also look for manufacturers who use sustainable methods, such as recycling, reducing their waste, and using renewable energy at their factories. You may also want to consider how the furniture is packaged and shipped and whether it uses low-impact methods.

How can we make our office more eco-friendly?

Making an office more eco-friendly is an honourable mission, but it usually involves baby steps towards your larger goal. Here are 18 moves you can make to create an eco-friendlier office: Go paperless. Buy recycled furniture. Install motion-sensor lights. Decorate with plants and greenery. Create a sustainable procurement policy. Use sustainable cleaning supplies. Encourage employees to walk or cycle to work. Encourage employees to bring reusable water bottles. Ditch the paper towels. Offset your carbon. Avoid plastic cups and disposable cutlery. Take part in the circular economy. Use a green energy supplier. Buy in bulk. Measure your carbon footprint. Give back to the local community. Keep shades open during daylight hours. Recycle properly.

Why should offices go green?

There is power in numbers. When we work together, our team can do more for the environment than we can individually. But going green as an office also benefits the employees. This is especially true if the office incorporates biophilic design. Biophilic design, a concept that brings nature into the office, improves employee’s well-being and productivity levels. But accessorising with living biophilic décor can also reduce dust levels by up to 20 per cent. Plants can also help regulate humidity levels, reducing the need for costly humidifiers or dehumidifiers.

What is sustainable office furniture?

Sustainable office furniture is a type of furniture that is renewable sourced, made from recycled materials, and made with fewer chemicals. Overall, sustainable furniture has less of a harmful impact on the environment. It creates less pollution and waste, from the sourcing of the product to the end of its life cycle.

Reduce your carbon footprint with Regener8

November 30, 2023

22 million pieces of furniture are thrown away annually in the U.K., most of which are sent to landfill[1]. We’re here to change that.

Not even 10% of people consider repairing furniture before throwing it away. We’re here to change that.

Thirty percent of adults throw away furniture that could be donated, reused, or sold instead. We’re here to change that.

Here at Saxen, we have a radical programme for reusing, reworking and recycling office furniture.

Meet Regener8.

A green recycling symbol made of rectangular panels floats above a green living room with plants, laptops, and a sofa.

How the Regener8 programme impacts sustainable office furniture.

Saxen offers a ground-breaking service — Regener8 — in which we will collect your old or unused furniture to dispose of it correctly. The furniture will either be recycled, reused, or reworked. All you need to do is give us a call and let us know what you’re looking to scrap, and we’ll do the hard work for you.

Reuse office furniture

About 51 per cent of bulky waste, including furniture, is reusable. Instead of discarding unwanted furniture, let us know about it, and we can give it a second chance at life.

Through our Regener8 programme, we donate your unwanted furniture to organisations in need. If you are a third-sector organisation or local group and would like to benefit from the Regener8 program, please register on our online portal by completing our contact form.

Rework office furniture

When reuse is not an option, Saxen can upcycle and reuse redundant furniture when possible. For instance, if the fabric on your office chair or sofa has seen better days, we can reupholster it in a new fabric. You can choose from fabric made from recycled PET, 100% recycled polyester, or 100% virgin wool.

Alternatively, if your desk frame is in good condition, but the top is worn, we can replace the desktop with a new finish, effectively restoring the desk to look as good as new.

Recycle office furniture

Some office furniture cannot be reused or reworked, but that doesn’t mean it needs to contribute to our country’s landfill issue. Instead, Saxen splits the furniture into components to recycle it properly.

Four modern chairs and a tall stool against a weathered concrete wall.

How our Regener8 initiative redefines office furniture sustainability.

The main mission of the Regener8 programme is to make a difference. At Saxen, we are on track to achieve net zero by 2050. Regener8 is just one of the many ways we reduce our carbon footprint. When discarded furniture comes our way, we can upcycle it, repurpose it or recycle its component parts, ensuring it doesn’t go to landfill.

One of the primary outcomes is that this reduces your (and our) environmental footprint. This means we have less negative environmental impact, and we lessen our effect on climate change, forest degradation, and excess waste in nature.

The Regener8 programme also promotes a circular economy in which we prioritise the reuse and regeneration of materials so we can continue production more sustainably. At Saxen, we aim to keep our products and materials in use for as long as possible before they are recycled or discarded.

Our manufacturing partners use raw materials — such as old exhibition carpets, water bottles and jeans — and make them into a new product. Since our planet has limited resources, our Regener8 programme ensures we aren’t taking more from the planet than necessary.

How your office furniture can be reclaimed, recycled, and reimagined.

If you have office furniture that is worn, torn, old, tired, or broken, give us a call at 01560 329 916. Alternatively, you can fill out our contact form, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

When you contact us, we will arrange a free consultation to understand your requirements and provide a quotation based on your needs. Once that’s all sorted, we will collect your furniture and take it to our sorting site. Here, we will either reuse, rework or recycle the furniture.

After we’ve regenerated the furniture, we will prepare a sustainability report to document the environmental and financial savings of the project. We will also provide a brief case study on how and where your product was reused or recycled.

Brochure with green and white graphics showing a carbon reduction plan, featuring footprints and charts.

Unveiling our plan to net zero by 2050.

Saxen is on track to achieve net zero by 2050. We plan to achieve a 50 percent reduction by 2030. Net Zero Nation invited us to partake in a 12-month business transformation, and in line with this initiative, we offer furniture, flooring and acoustic solutions made from recycled materials. This includes discarded PET bottles, used coffee sacks and old jeans.

Other initiatives for reducing our carbon footprint include:

We offset our business miles by planting trees in the Saxen Grove.
We opt for online meetings where possible.
30% of our staff have switched to an electric vehicle.
We recycled all our cardboard waste packaging.
We supply from sustainable furniture manufacturers.
We use LED lighting in our showroom.
We use cloud-based storage to reduce paper waste.
We use 100% recycled toilet paper, which is shipped via a carbon-neutral shipping method.

Frequently asked questions

What are sustainable materials for furniture?

When considering eco-friendly furniture, here are some of the most sustainable materials to choose from:

Wood: Sustainably sourced wood is renewable and reduces carbon within the workspace. All wooden furniture Saxen supplies is made from FSC-certified wood from sustainable forests.

Vegetable fibres
Vegetable fibres use no chemicals during the manufacturing process. This includes wicker, rattan, bamboo and cotton.

Animal fibres
Animal fibres, including wool and silk, from organic farms are also sustainable.

Steel
Steel is reusable, making it infinitely recyclable. Plus, it’s durable and easy to clean.

Aluminium
Aluminium, like steel, is infinitely recyclable. Recycling aluminium uses 95 percent less energy than making new aluminium⁽²⁾.

Recycled materials
Making furniture from recycled materials is sustainable as you don’t have to source fresh materials.
Can furniture be environmentally friendly?

Designing eco-friendly furniture is a significant priority for many designers and brands. The good news is that furniture can be truly environmentally friendly when made from sustainable and renewable materials.

Durable and high-quality furniture is important so that you aren’t replacing it regularly. This can lead to more manufacturing and a higher demand for new materials.

You should also look for manufacturers who use sustainable methods, such as recycling, reducing their waste, and using renewable energy at their factories. You may also want to consider how the furniture is packaged and shipped and whether it uses low-impact methods.
How can we make our office more eco-friendly?
Making an office more eco-friendly is an honourable mission, but it usually involves baby steps towards your larger goal. Here are 18 moves you can make to create an eco-friendlier office:
- Go paperless.
- Buy recycled furniture.
- Install motion-sensor lights.
- Decorate with plants and greenery.
- Create a sustainable procurement policy.
- Use sustainable cleaning supplies.
- Encourage employees to walk or cycle to work.
- Encourage employees to bring reusable water bottles.
- Ditch the paper towels.
- Offset your carbon.
- Avoid plastic cups and disposable cutlery.
- Take part in the circular economy.
- Use a green energy supplier.
- Buy in bulk.
- Measure your carbon footprint.
- Give back to the local community.
- Keep shades open during daylight hours.
- Recycle properly.
Why should offices go green?

There is power in numbers. When we work together, our team can do more for the environment than we can individually.

But going green as an office also benefits the employees. This is especially true if the office incorporates biophilic design. Biophilic design, a concept that brings nature into the office, improves employee’s well-being and productivity levels.

But accessorising with living biophilic décor can also reduce dust levels by up to 20 per cent. Plants can also help regulate humidity levels, reducing the need for costly humidifiers or dehumidifiers.
What is sustainable office furniture?

Sustainable office furniture is a type of furniture that is renewable sourced, made from recycled materials, and made with fewer chemicals. Overall, sustainable furniture has less of a harmful impact on the environment. It creates less pollution and waste, from the sourcing of the product to the end of its life cycle.

Sustainable office furniture in Scotland.

At Saxen, we proudly supply a range of sustainable office furniture. Our catalogue includes bamboo desks, acoustic panels made from recycled event carpets, and office chairs made from recycled PET bottles (see video below). Our beautiful furniture comes with extended guarantees, ensuring the longevity of the furniture pieces.

To see these eco-friendly products in your workspace, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help. Not only can we provide a range of products, but we also offer office space planning, move management, and recycling of your old furniture.