Audacious Ideas
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LFL Lives On through Furniturecycle
It’s time to call it what it is. A crisis. Over the last year while posting hundreds of photos of beautifully imperfect pieces of furniture on Instagram, I’ve asked this question many times–is this a crisis? Who says, and when? Will the waste industry tell us? No. The furniture industry? No. So, I’m doing it–I’m declaring a crisis. The data is too staggering not to. Loved Furniture Lasts, my accidental passion project that documented over 50,000 pounds of discarded furniture within two miles of my home in 15 months, of which 89% was reusable, is evolving. I’m pleased to introduce Furniturecycle, an Idea Lab that explores furniture waste from the…
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Circularity in Furnishings
It was an honor to present Circularity in Furnishings, a story about my passion project, Loved Furniture Lasts, to the Sustainable Furnishings Council on May 21, 2020 as part of their Sustainability Essentials Webinar series. Summary findings: In 15 months, from Jan. 2019-Mar. 2020, within two miles of my home, I chronicled 592 pieces of discarded furniture. Added together, it weighed an estimated 50,578 pounds. Since weight in and of itself is not super useful, I graded them by condition and found 89% was reusable. Takeaway thoughts: This is not a waste problem, this is a lack of investment, infrastructure and imagination In a circular economy, downstream is the new…
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Let’s Begin at the End, Market That Is
Lucy and I passed 7 trees on one walk last week. The city offers a free tree pickup service immediately following the holidays. There are some simple rules to follow: no stands, no decorations, no (fake) snow. (They’re also supposed to be cut into small chunks, but few seemed to get that memo.) This makes it easy for the waste haulers to send the trees to the compost pile, not the landfill. They break down, new soil is born. Trees have an end market: a place to go to recapture their value. Most furniture comes from wood, from trees. It’s treated and processed but its core is wood. Yet, wooden…
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Carrot as Compost; Couch as Catalyst
Food waste rescue is the art of saving food from the landfill for use and redistribution. This approach has spurred innovative catering companies, created shelf stable product lines, and provided culinary education and leadership training for people with barriers to employment. New industry segments all catalyzed by food waste—amazing. This work is creative, and logistically complicated, but so is climate change and food insecurity. Opting out is not an option. Can we rescue furniture waste with a similar model? Can we not salvage some materials and add value to others in the name of sustained waste prevention? Can we help create markets through legislation and education? Can we create jobs…
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Imagining Benefits that Benefited the Long Term
How much does language influence our thoughts? I love this example. A hospital connotes care, even when applied to furniture. This combination of words provides a gentle, refreshing reminder that furniture should not be disposable. Well made frames are built to have many lives. Talented reupholsterers are trained to bring each owner’s specific aesthetic to life. This loving maintenance, also known as reupholstery, powers multigenerational reuse, is kinder to the planet, supports skilled labor, and enriches the local community. Beyond language, what about payment? A hospital is also synonymous with insurance. Companies’ benefit packages offer pet insurance, and student loan payback perks, why not material maintenance insurance? It aligns our…
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Prime Days Did Not Spark Joy
Over 175 million items were sold and shipped in one day or less during Amazon Prime Days—its two day birthday party which ended yesterday—boasted Amazon’s press release. What speed! What scale! Now, where do we squeeze in these millions of new things? In our clogged closets? The shelves are already bursting, or maybe not— maybe Marie Kondo was just preparing us for Prime Days? Way back in January it was reported that thrift stores nationwide were seeing huge increases in donations due to the popularity of Marie Kondo’s show, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” One donation center in Washington DC saw a 367% increase over the same week the…
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Regenerative Niches Unite
Farmers are being recognized as climate change warriors. When they adopt regenerative practices, they can suck carbon out of the air, improve soil health, and create diverse ecosystems. Its radically beneficial on many levels and I love it. But I don’t live in a rural environment, my neighborhood is covered in pavement. Surely cities have players who are regenerative practitioners, too. Right? All ecosystems need to be nourished in some way. What about repair/reuse practitioners, like reupholsterers? Don’t they fill a regenerative niche? They strengthen the social fabric, diversify the economy, and reduce natural resource consumption by extending the life of goods. Plus, they keep money flowing locally and are…
