A few weeks ago we attended our first conference with the GFDA (Good Future Design Alliance). Katie and I decided in order to really embrace the beautiful industry we’re in, we had to pull a little of our heart into the mix. Our earth, our oceans, our animals, our life are in desperate need of people who actually care about these things more than the profits and the short lived excitement of surrounding ourselves with ‘new’ things. As the GFDA states, “We have to do better, & we have to do it together.” Today we would like to share just a few things we learned and how they can relate to how we design, build, decorate our world.

When we purchase something for our home and subsequently get rid of the older item it’s replacing, where does the older item go? According to the EPA, as of 2018, the United States tosses out 12.2 MILLION TONS of furniture each year, straight to the landfills. If we compare this to the 1970’s, 2.6 million, we can see the effects of Consumerism, conformity and uncritical thinking. “in effect, our consumption-obsessed society may be a ‘house of cards’ that can collapse at any moment.” - Gregory Frantz.

In this wake up call to designers, builders and homeowners alike, we are hoping to encourage more thinking and action driven to building a strong, sustainable plan for waste reduction.

So what can we do?

1- Our lives on this planet are a ‘long game’- Our furnishings and design should also be. I see too many people throw away beautiful materials because they are tired of them or just want a ‘total look’. I understand this as I want to do cohesive room designs also. But we can can exercise our artist side and integrate the old with the new. “This not only saves our blueprint for each piece we own, but it adds a story and a richness of history that we couldn’t get any other way.

2- If you can’t afford a quality piece of furniture, consider waiting and saving for it or use wonderful consignment shops. Examples would be Charish.com or 1stdibs.com. You can get a longer lasting piece of furniture vs a cheap one that cost a fortune in oil to get it to you and it breaks quickly and then it’s not even recyclable.

3- Consider a few extra steps and find organizations that actually do repurpose your donations both furnishings AND deconstruction from a remodel. Examples: rebuildingtogethersf.org and thereusepeople.org.

This subject is near and dear to our hearts and we want to contribute to a solution, buying only new… is tired and old.