by Julia Paulus

Everyone is talking about going green.  Involving everyday purchases—such as food, clothes and cleaning products—and large investments—in cars, construction and energy—going green is no longer just a trend; it’s a lifestyle. 

Business owners can incorporate the green lifestyle by going paperless; recycling cardboard, paper, plastic and steel; using green cleaning products; or switching to more efficient lighting.

You can even refurnish your office in an environmentally friendly way.  Whether you want to purchase new green furnishings or refurbished items, you can save in more ways than one, helping the environment and your pocketbook.  And you don’t have to look too far or hard to do so.

“You have no idea how much office furniture is out there,” says David Singer, owner of St. Louis-based Warehouse of Fixtures.  “But there are quite a few socially responsible companies, like Edward Jones and Express Scripts, who have a commitment to keep their old office furniture from ending up in landfills.  Companies like mine buy, refurbish and resell their furniture, and other business owners can save money buying from us.”

Refurbished saves money
By refurbishing or selling “as-is” office furniture, these surplus furniture dealers offer buyers better prices and make a commitment to bettering the environment. 

“We do refurbishing using all environmentally friendly products,” says Daniel Roderique, the location manager of Office Furniture Resources. “Statistics show that last year we saved 1,500 to 2,500 trailers of used furniture from being put in landfills.  And we recycle all the waste that we can.  For example, if we have a filing cabinet that we cannot resell because it is too damaged, then we break it down and recycle the metal.  We refurbish everything from chairs on up.  We try to reuse everything—even pictures and plants.”

Josh Richie, vice president of sales for St. Louis-based Remanufactured Business Furniture, says his company also tries to be as green as possible when remanufacturing furniture.  “In addition to the environmental benefits of reusing furniture, we also ask that clients who want to refurbish use fabrics that are recycled and water-based paints and glues, and we use minimal packing materials,” he says. 
But choosing to buy remanufactured furniture doesn’t mean you should sacrifice quality. Herman Miller and Steelcase are two examples of companies that offer high-quality remanufactured products.  “Higher-end quality is important because the parts are often interchangeable,” says Roderique. 

The as-is route
As an alternative to refurbished furniture, some businesses purchase “as-is” workstations.  “This happens if, unfortunately, a company went under or downsized and they are selling furniture that does not need to be refurbished,” says Roderique.  “You are going to pay half as much when it comes to buying refurbished over new furniture.  And you will pay a third to half as much for an as-is station as opposed to new.” 

On top of being cost-effective, as-is workstations are the most environmentally friendly option, says Dan Livingston of Wentzville-based Office Furniture Network.  “As-is is the greenest solution because you’re not using any energy to refurbish,” he says.  “It may just have to be cleaned.” 

If you decide to buy refurbished or as-is furniture, you need to watch out for certain things when it comes to your dealer and the products.  “Make sure you’re working with a full-service company,” says Livingston.  “Look for someone who is going to ask questions to understand your goals relative to cost, schedule, functionality and what your five-year plan is as far as company growth.  Get something that could be added to or supplemented, and never buy a discontinued line of furniture.  They’re out there.”

New and green
A third choice is to purchase new green furniture from companies such as Global and Evolve Furniture Group.  “These companies use recycled materials and suck the overspray of the paint into reservoirs so that they can reuse it,” says Singer.

Richie points out that although new green furniture has environmental benefits compared with other new furnishings, consumers should not be deceived by advertising.  Remanufactured furniture is more environmentally sound and much less expensive.  “A lot of money is spent by big-box dealers to make it appear that new green products have the same environmental benefits as as-is or refurbished furniture, and that’s not true,” says Richie.  “Even if they are using recycled materials, they are not reusing the furniture.  Remanufactured has a step up in that way.  As-is, remanufactured and new green furniture are three different price ranges with three different sets of pros and cons.”

All three choices are easy to find locally, so before you refurnish, you should know your options and think about all aspects of the space you are refurnishing. 
“You should know your color choices in terms of paint and carpet and the dimensions of the space before purchasing furniture,” says Roderique.  “Also, check on access to the building.  Some buildings will not let you in to refurnish at night, which may increase costs on installation and delivery.”