Eco-friendly furniture made easy with Gus* Modern
Beyond style or function, we're constantly looking for transparency and honesty when it comes to manufacturing, materials, and sustainability practices. There is a lot that goes undisclosed when it comes to ethical practices and sometimes hours at the computer can lead you right back to your first question – can I trust that this brand acts with thoughtfulness towards the environment? We want to make the process a little easier and share a brand that is committed to sustainability: our friends at Gus* Modern.
Gus* is based in Toronto, and as we know, Canadians are our North American neighbors that seem to just do everything better. Maybe it's all in our heads, maybe it's Justin Trudeau fulfilling our leadership dreams? No question this has translated to their practices within the furniture world. Okay, enough from us, here's what they do best.
Helping Save the Forests with FSC©-Certified Wood
You may have heard this term thrown around a bit on your favorite solid-wood products like Ethnicraft, and that's because brands have been paying close attention to ways they can better protect our forests. How does this help you may ask? It's simple – they use wood from responsibly managed forests that take the environment and the social/cultural effects of using it seriously. The FSC© factors in the wellbeing of workers and the surrounding indigenous population as well in order to be certified, so it goes beyond just the physicality.
All the wood that Gus* uses for sectionals, sofas, and upholstered chairs is FSC©-certified so you know that every practice from its harvest to the treatment of workers is ethical and sustainable. And if you ever run into an instance where someone is claiming to have 100% FSC-certified wood but seems fishy, you can head to the FSC© site and verify it in a snap!
Using PET Filling: The New and Improved Down
Gus* utilizes a synthetic material similar to down made from recycled PET, which is composed of all those plastic water bottles and containers you (hopefully) recycle. It holds its form better than down, it's hypoallergenic, and helps prevent plastic from continuing to pile in landfills. Most of our favorite Gus* sofas use this filling, like the Margot Sofa – but here's a comprehensive list of all that do.
The Sustainable Furnishings Council
As a member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, they take steps every day to minimize carbon emissions, pollutants, un-recyclable content and primary materials from unsustainable sources. What more could we ask for? Even in terms of chemicals – they have followed suit with California procedures and axed the use of flame retardant chemicals in the upholstery foam. Goodbye particle board and formaldehyde! Not only do the materials matter for Gus* but they keep it green even with packaging. They strive to have all packing materials recyclable – by eliminating things like black plastic or unneeded padding agents.
If these practices haven't been on your mind yet, hopefully, this has given you some insight now into why digging a little deeper before you make a purchase is important on so many different levels. As always, we're only a phone call or quick visit away if you want to know more or get our opinion on saving the planet one design at a time.