WHEN THINGS ARE MADE TO BREAK
The amount of household items that get thrown away is enormous. We have all seen the piles of ‘outdated’ and broken furniture and white goods waiting for the council clean-up collections on the side of the road.
Based on a compositional survey of more than 2,500 households in metropolitan areas, on average each household disposes of around 24kg of wooden furniture per year! Approximately a third of this are soft furnishings like sofas and armchairs, and two-thirds other wooden furniture.
With a population of about 2 million households in the Greater Sydney Region this adds up to around 48,000 Tonnes of used furniture per annum. To make this number a bit more tangible: This could translate into 800,000 three-seater sofas, 1.65 million dining tables, 3.4 million coffee tables or 6.85 million chairs, thrown away every year. This number is only of the council clean up in the Sydney Region and does not include furniture brought to dumps directly.
The responsibility for change lies within ourselves. For one, we can change our mindset about how and what we consume. Maybe it is time we questioned every purchase we make! Does it make us happy to own more and more? Do we really need endless amount of stuff? Maye be less is more.
When we look beyond the initial purchasing costs, which may seem the most economical choice at the time and take the hidden cost into account another picture becomes clear.
1. Environmentally damaging production cycles: Toxic Substances, finishings, treatments, and binding agents used on furniture can pose a risk to consumers, even after they leave the manufacturing facility. Furniture manufactured with formaldehyde or flame-retardant chemicals can release toxic gases into the home in a process known as “off-gassing,” posing a risk to humans, animals, and the environment.
2. Low quality materials have a short lifespan: Much of the budget range furniture breaks easily and cannot be repaired. Whereas a wood board could be restored even if it had been exposed to some moisture, chipboard will swell immediately, will lose its integrity and neither cannot be sanded down or restored. Low graded plastic components break easier than higher quality fittings. Cheap fabric, might fade and loose shape quicker.
When we invest into good quality furniture, made from premium materials, they will last many years and can be refreshed periodically.
3. Just like in the fashion industry, much of the soft furnishing is produced overseas in so called low cost countries with labourers being paid a few Dollars a day, working long hours to make their minimum daily wages. Whereas Australian Minimum wage lies at 20 AUD per hour.
There is a reason why certain companies can sell armchairs for under 100 Dollars.
I invite you to question prices on articles you see and think if they are realistic. Are we all willing to pay the hidden costs to the environment and fellow human beings?
If things are too cheap, we are not willing even look after them or get them repaired . We discard them quickly and replace them with yet new low cost items at huge cost to the environment.
Over the years I have seen all sorts of furniture come over the floor, much of the modern furniture might look fancy on the outside but the inside looks rather bleak, weak bones and structures, cheap materials that wear quickly, entire layers left out to save on work time and material cost, compromising the longevity of the piece.
A while back I recovered a modern sofa. The frame was barely hanging onto each other. A few battens nailed together with large gaps in between. The different layers of foam were loosely put on top of eachother, they were not glued together nor were they attached to the frame. The one quality item was the wadding, with which the entire shabang was held together.
In times before planned obsolescence was a thing, furniture would last for decades. Back in the days frames were still properly jointed and materials were made to last. The incentive was not to make the highest profit, but to pride oneself in excellent craftsmanship.
At dumped & ditched we commit to only use the highest quality of products and never to cut out any layers to guarantee the longevity of your furniture.
From having worked for years on a personal level with my many wonderful clients, I can not understate how much joy people receive from their custom-made furniture. Unique pieces designed especially for them and their homes. I am grateful for their commitment to revive family heirlooms and found second hand treasures.
