The website produced by Discovery.com - www.planetgreen.discovery.com
lists as #8 on their tips on going green 'buy vintage', here's what they have to say:
"Buy vintage -
With all the slick, mod, "eco" brands jumping into the market it can be hard to keep in mind that pre-owned goods can be the most green purchase of all. Vintage and second-hand and furniture requires no additional resources to manufacture, is often locally sources (cutting down on transportation), is pre-offgassed and eases the load on the landfill. Quality vintage furniture can also have excellent resale value (sometimes selling for the same price it was bought) which certainly can't be said for most new furniture, green or otherwise."
Those of us who have been dealing in antiques have known that for years but I suppose the public should be reminded that buying local, buying vintage, and buying antiques is far more "green" than purchasing a newly produced item.
I'm also in the manufacturing business and of course there is a place for high quality long lasting furnishings as well.
The mindset that furniture can be disposable is what needs to change, like many things in our world for every disposable piece of furniture you'd consider for your kid's dorm room, or starter apartment there's probably a comparable piece in a vintage quality used version. Buying low price does NOT have to mean buying disposable.
Although IKEA goes to great lengths on their website to explain how they are using sustainable materials and what they've done to reduce VOC's and their carbon footprint, the reality remains that their products more than likely will end up in a garbage truck and not being handed down or even in a thrift store for someone else to purchase. Think for a moment of all the American families who run to IKEA or K Mart stores to purchase throw away furniture for their kid's room or dorm rooms simply because it is convenient. There are quality alternatives in thrift stores and a can of spray paint goes a long way to update much of what is found.
Protests of thrift store finds not being "cool" by the kids who have to live with the pieces are a perfect opportunity to educate the next generation about the importance of reuseing what we've already created so we don't have to produce more.
In nations all over the world poor people used their lack of resources to fashion furniture from such mundane objects as car and bicycle tires. The access to resources we've enjoyed in America have become our biggest threat. We're literally drowning in what we produce.
Saving pennies to buy a quality piece of furniture, even if it is one slipper chair to go next to the bed, or a kitchen stool that will get used ten times a day, is worth the effort and the patience it takes to acquire since its life will likely extend beyond your's. Extend that to larger pieces in your home and you start to make a difference in your own "presence" on this earth and your impact on it.
My brother, Tim Lee, who has lived as a photographer in East Hampton for the past 30 years lives this philosphy virtually daily. His beautiful home is filled with yardsale finds and antique store treasures. His keen eye has scooped up plenty solid wood funiture items and vintage candlesticks for sure, however, his cooktop (an $1100.00 value) was bought slightly used at a yard sale for a tenth of that, as was his stainless steel cabinetry, 12' dining table and even bathroom tiles (which were over runs from a new construction).
Fortunately my parents instilled in myself and my syblings that there is value in buying antiques and vintage, and as such we were surrounded by wonderful mixes of furniture from many countries and many eras. Wwen we all "grew up" we all had some of their furniture for our own homes as treasured reminders of our childhood. It's not surprising that the furniture that ended up with each of us is not made of plastic or pressboard.
