Like fast fashion, fast furniture threatens our planet

Most consumers are aware of the problems of buying fast fashion. Still, only a few know that some companies use the same model to produce furniture with a shockingly high ecological impact. Activists call it fast furniture, and it has a lot of social and environmental implications.

The covid-19 pandemic accelerated the rate at which consumers buy fast furniture. Quarantine made a lot of people get the urge to change some of their furniture. According to the British magazine The Week, the Office of National Statistics claims that sales grew by 42% in the first half of 2020.

The problem with fast furniture is that it is mass-produced and cheap, so it is relatively easy to abandon. A lot of these desks and tables are meant to last around five years, Deana McDonagh, a professor of industrial design at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, told The New York Times.

According to Ashlee Piper, a sustainability expert cited by Architectural Digest, most of the furniture currently cluttering dumps was made within the last 10 to 15 years. The problem with fast furniture, said Piper, is that it is not made to last more than a couple of years.

Fast furniture only lasts for a while because it is often made with Chipboard, a cheap but fragile material. However, even hardwood is unsustainable in massive production. According to B2C Furniture's data, collected by Green Matters, unsustainable wood sourcing kills about 12 billion trees across the U.K., U.S., and Australia every year.

Design magazine Daze claims that several fast fashion brands have joined the fast furniture business since the pandemic boost. Boohoo, Pretty Little Thing, and Missguided joined H&M, Primark, Shein, and Zara in promoting homeware hauls.

However, the most notorious fast furniture brand is Ikea. The New York Times collected a statement from the company's office in Sweden that claimed "life span estimation may vary" for its furniture. The retailer also clarified that some of its products are meant to last and others to be cheap.

"We sell an extensive range of furniture products across all styles and price points," continued the statement in The New York Times. Finally, recognizing that some products are meant to "last for generations as well as furniture that meets customer needs for affordability."

But The New York Times also conceded that fast furniture is necessary for some people. "For all of its flaws, fast furniture offers millions of homeowners the opportunity to live in a stylish home at an affordable price point," the article reads. Even those who would prefer to buy custom pieces "simply don't have the resources to do so...as young people contend with skyrocketing housing prices and economic anxiety."

Whether by choice or necessity, Americans buy a lot of fast furniture. According to data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) collected by CNN, U.S. citizens threw out over 12 million tons of furniture and furnishings in 2018. Over 80% ended up in a landfill.

Ashley Piper told The New York Times that furniture waste is complex. "It's quite a big problem, both spatially and also because of the way a lot of fast furniture is made now. It's not just wood and metal. The materials don't biodegrade or break down. "We are creating this Leviathan problem at landfills with the furniture we get rid of," she added.

To solve the waste problem, retailers create repair and resell programs. According to CNN, Ikea launched a "Buyback & Resell" scheme through which pieces of used furniture can be returned, refreshed, and given a second life.

Katie Treggiden, circular design expert and author of 'Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure,' told CNN: "We also need (retailers) to embrace the rest of the circular economy by designing out waste and pollution." Following this trend, Ikea also promised to use only recyclable materials by 2030.

According to CNN, Tregidden's book showcases that many designers have embraced this notion by turning waste materials into new furniture products. The channel cites examples like a sofa made of trash bags by Russian designer Harry Nuriev or British James Shaw's furniture series made with colorful recycled plastic.

Discover listed a few tips to avoid buying fast furniture. The first is looking for long-lasting materials like natural wood instead of fiberboard and avoiding plastic. The magazine also recommends taking good care of existing pieces to increase their lifespan. Finally, to avoid contributing to the waste problem, donate items to charities and secondhand shops, or sell them online if they are still in good shape.

Making mindful purchases is the best way to avoid destroying the planet through furniture choices. Discover recommends taking the time to "mull over your purchase" by envisioning how it fits into your lifestyle. Treggiden told CNN that buying secondhand furniture is a cheap way to embrace circularity.