Breathe Easier With Low Toxicity Furniture

Creating a sustainable workplace has become vital to the reputation of an organisation, it’s almost no longer a choice, but instead, a necessity. With an overwhelming call across the globe to go green, it’s simply bad for business not to integrate sustainable initiatives into organisational planning.

For interior designers, project managers or business leaders looking to help drive sustainability in the workplace, a good (and healthy) place to start, is with low emissions furniture.

Consider the workplace; the actual size of the space, the number of employees, every piece of furniture needed to promote productivity and comfortability while also keeping a company’s brand in mind for stylistic purposes. Each piece of furniture integrated, will release substances into the air. While this isn’t necessarily something to fear, as almost everything does this, synthetic materials, or those treated with synthetic substances can be especially harmful as they contain Volatile organic compounds (VOCs). What are VOCs? We’re glad you asked!

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a large family of chemicals that contain carbon and hydrogen. They can be released into indoor air from a number of sources, including workplace furniture (flame retardants and formaldehyde being quite common). While some VOCs are more toxic than others, the health risks associated will depend on the levels you are exposed to, the length of time you are exposed, and your individual sensitivity to toxicity. Because your risk increases with exposure, and employees are logging more hours in the office than ever – introducing low emissions (or low VOC) furniture into the workplace just makes sense on so many levels.

Whether you work in an office, shop, run your own business or manage a major corporation, taking care of the environment is easier than you think. Creating a more sustainable workplace by providing optimal air quality can result in a healthier and more productive place to work, a lighter ecological footprint, a boost in staff morale and increased growth for your bottom line.