Green ideas for outdoor furniture

[This story first appeared in the Oct-Nov 2014 issue of Green Ideas magazine.]

What Kiwi doesn’t love to throw the back door open and spend the summer months flitting between the house and garden? No wonder the shops are full of outdoor furniture. But it can be surprisingly hard to choose the right deck chairs or picnic table. You need to be confident they will withstand the summer’s blazing sun without cracking and winter’s torrential downpours without rotting. Plus, you want them to look good. Luckily there are plenty of furniture materials that will see you right on all fronts.

Unfortunately some of the most durable hardwoods that make the best furniture are also the worst for the environment.

The world’s wood trade is awash with disturbing habits: endangered trees are felled, rainforests are pillaged and illegal logging takes place to meet the world’s demand for wood. This is disastrous for animals that rely on healthy rainforests, and has a major impact on climate change, as the world’s forests are key to absorbing CO2 from the air. Meanwhile indigenous people are also seeing their food sources and livelihoods disappear as the forests around them are felled.

Thankfully, there are some great sustainable options around that make it easy to avoid damaging the environment, while still enjoying sturdy and stylish outdoor furniture. Here’s our selection of the best buys, plus tips on how to choose outdoor furniture that’s better for the planet.

Retyred pool set

$679 (pictured above)
www.retyredfurniture.com

Tyres take thousands of years to decompose in a landfill. Here’s one way to stop a few from ending up there, while getting yourself some very durable garden furniture.

The set is made entirely from reclaimed tyres crafted under fair trade conditions in Indonesia. Tyre rubber is flexible so the seats are super comfortable and, if you were wondering, they are cleaned to within an inch of their lives so there’s no way they’ll leave black marks on your clothing.

Bunnings Warehouse

Mimosa Karri Gum Timber 3 Piece Outdoor Setting with Benches
$897
www.bunnings.co.nz

Simple and solid, this three-piece table and bench package is the perfect setting for an alfresco family feast. Measuring a generous two metres long, you could probably squish four moderately-sized bottoms on to each bench, then add a couple of chairs at either end and have yourself a party.

Made from FSC-certified karri gum, the set is oiled for a natural finish and can remain outside throughout the year.

Industrial Design

NZ reclaimed pallet bar stool
$180
www.industrialdesignnz.co.nz

It’s an unusual thing to feel virtuous while propping up the bar but these stools make it possible. Former scientist turned furniture maker Paul Roset collects used pallets from businesses around Auckland and transforms them into funky furniture.

The keen environmentalist avoids treating the timber to save on chemical use; instead clear-coating them just once and asking his customers to do the same every six to 12 months so the stools can weather the elements.

Handmade, eco friendly and superbly original, we reckon these are pretty cool.

Hammock Shop

Family hammock (in chilli)
$259.95
www.hammockshop.co.nz

Bliss is swinging in a hammock on a fine summer’s day. And with this one you won’t even have to bicker with the family over whose turn it is for a gentle rock; it’s large enough to accommodate two or three people at once.

Made from certified-organic cotton, accredited by the Textile Exchange, it is beautifully soft and much more environmentally friendly than some other hammocks fashioned from man-made materials. The trade-off is that it can’t be left outside in all weather, but we figure bringing a hammock in each evening is a small price to pay for a healthier planet.

The Warehouse

Indoors Out Cape Cod Chair
$149
www.thewarehouse.co.nz

The Cape Cod chair is a classic for a reason. With a low seat and deep angled back, it is beautifully comfortable and the wide arms offer the perfect place to plonk a G&T or cold beer.

Countless retailers offer versions of the Cape Cod but you could do much worse than this one. The Warehouse has upped the quality of its outdoor furniture by moving from using mixed hardwood materials to single-species wood – this one is made from eucalyptus grandis – and all of their timber is FSC certified.

Briscoes

Tulipan outdoor wooden bench seat
$249.99
www.briscoes.co.nz

The beauty of a basic bench seat is it looks good in almost any setting. From the garden to a sprawling deck to a dinky patio, it fits right in. This one is simple but stylish and won’t break the bank. It is made from FSC-certified eucalyptus hardwood and fits two people.

Ethan

www.ethan.co.nz

Parson James Carver chair
$740

This chair would make a cheap folding one blush. Just look at the high, curved back designed for comfort, the triangular bracing built for strength and the wide arms ready to support a lazy elbow or a glass of vino.

Yes, it’s pricey, but as outdoor dining chairs go this is royalty. Available in FSC-certified iroko hardwood, the chair might belong tucked up under a table but who would want it hidden? We’d have this little beauty standing proudly alone.

Lounge chair and ottoman
Chair $1820, ottoman $960

This is deck furniture to drool over. Beautifully designed and perfectly finished, this lounge chair and ottoman have a faint ‘50s feel and a definite whiff of luxury. The chair has a high back, wide arms and a deep cushion, and the ottoman can either support weary feet or, with the Velcro-attached cushion whipped off, act as a coffee table.

Ethan offers the set in a range of timbers, one of which is FSC-certified iroko hardwood. Additionally, Sunbrella, the company that makes the cushion fabric, are greener than many. The company uses up to 50 per cent recycled fibre, recycles all of the company’s waste materials and operates a recycling programme for Sunbrella products.

Labels to look for

The simplest way to ensure wooden furniture is environmentally friendly is to look for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) logo. While there are many organisations that certify wood, the FSC is the leading one, recommended by both Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund. It now also certifies bamboo and rattan. Also look out for The Forest Trust (TFT) symbol. This organisation is helping forest owners and managers improve their practices up to FSC standards.

The good wood – which timbers can you trust?

New Zealand macrocarpa

Macrocarpa is a durable, golden-brown softwood that resembles kauri and doesn’t need preservative treatment to last outdoors. It is widely grown in New Zealand on plantations and in shelterbelts.

Mango

Mango trees in tropical plantations stop bearing fruit around 20-30 years, at which point the trees are felled and milled and replaced with young saplings. Timber from mango tree plantations is therefore usually a completely sustainable choice, and makes attractive hardwood furniture.

Recycled wood

Greenpeace chief policy advisor Nathan Argent has some advice for anyone looking for outdoor furniture: “Recycled is always best.” Just be wary of imported furniture. Without certification it’s hard to know if the wood is really recycled.

Bamboo

Not a wood but a darn useful, eco-friendly material. Bamboo is a fast-growing grass and can be cultivated without pesticides.

New Zealand plantation pine

Pine is a durable alternative to tropical hardwood and half of local plantations are now certified sustainable by third-party accreditation schemes. Pine plantations are better for the environment than open land as they help to prevent soil erosion and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

Timber traps – wood to be wary of

Kwila

The International Union for Conservation of Nature deems kwila a vulnerable tree species. Illegal logging of kwila in West Papau has had a devastating impact on both the environment and tribal communities. New Zealand activists have repeatedly protested against shops that stock the wood.

Burmese teak

Myanmar’s former military rulers allowed devastating deforestation in order to earn large amounts of money from teak exports. This year, the country finally banned the export of round logs and slashed its total logging quotas, however it remains the only place in the world willing to fell wild teak and fears continue that the ban will fuel a rise in the illegal teak trade.

Fijian kauri

Only found in four places in the world, Agathis macrophylla (the scientific name for this type of kauri) is listed as an endangered species by The International Union for Conservation of Nature, with the Fijian reserve of trees considered vulnerable.