Meet Emily McGarvey, furniture maker and retailer Room & Board’s first Director of Sustainability. The company, founded in 1980, recently became an employee-owned B Corporation. Room & Board is working on reducing its environmental impact by engaging 12,000 U.S. craftspeople to make its furniture, achieving a 95% sustainable wood sourcing goal, including using urban wood recovered for reuse in tables and chairs, and making 51% of its packaging recyclable with a goal of reaching 100% by 2025.
The global furniture industry is expected to see $765 billion in sales this year, according to a Statista analysis. Making sustainable choices in the furniture industry, from sourcing materials near producers to shortening supply chains to minimize shipping needs, can provide consumers with eco-friendly options. For example, retail chain Ashley Furniture has the seventh largest ocean shipping carbon footprint among major brands due to most of its manufacturing being based in Asia. Learn more about Room & Board at roomandboard.com.
Correction: A reference to Room & Board’s recyclable packaging progress needed to be corrected. Instead of achieving 89% recyclable packaging, the company currently uses 51% recyclable material, with a goal of reaching 100% by 2025.
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