In the last few decades the furniture industry has seen a shift towards big box behemoth chain stores. Customers in search of a bargain for a cheap furniture flock to these depots in order to furniture their house for as little as possible. As a consequence, the average American consumer really has no idea where their furniture comes from and the true effects of their purchasing decisions.

For most of the last century American furniture was made in Chicago and the South using American raw goods. As the EPA tightened pollution laws, many furniture manufacturers have found it much cheaper to move their factories overseas than to upgrade their American ones. Now, most furniture sold in the United States comes from China, Vietnam, Indonesia and many other similar countries.

While many people see this as just another aspect of the ever expanding process of globalization; the effects on our country, the environment, and work force are devastating. When you buy furniture you should consider more than just the sticker price!

The True Price of Cheap Furniture

Jobs

With many furniture factories closing down around the country and more furniture companies relying on imports, the domestic furniture job market has been decimated. Dozens of towns and communities that were centered around these furniture factories have been completely devastated. To make things worse, raw materials from around the world are sent to these overseas furniture factories completely bypassing the American logging industry and others.

The Environment

Furniture companies moved overseas to avoid compliance with the EPA’s tough emission and pollution restrictions. It’s simply cheaper for them to find a country with lax environmental laws and set up shop there. Many of these countries don’t care about the use of harmful chemicals or unsafe work conditions so large manufacturers can take the cheapest route possible to deliver that end table to Wal-Mart’s loading dock.

Furthermore, raw materials are being taken from delicate ecosystems like the Amazon’s rain forest and then shipped all around the world to the factories. After being constructed the final product is shipped around the world, only to be put on trucks and shipped even more. The effect of all of these greenhouse gas emissions expelled during the shipping process has a huge impact on our environment.

Made in America?

The Federal Trade Commission only mandates that U.S. content be disclosed for automobiles, textiles, wool and fur. If someone uses the “Made in America” tag it only has to be assembled here and have a certain percentage of the manufacturing costs spent in the U.S. This means a furniture company could have most of its product’s parts made in China, shipped here and slapped together before sale and still be considered “Made in America”.

The Solution? Buy Local

Once you factor in the environmental, economic, and human costs of that piece of cheap furniture it’s not really that great of a deal. The good news is that our country still has a thriving local furniture manufacturing industry. Some of the most notable furniture, in both quality and environmental friendliness, is made by the Amish.

These skilled craftsmen have been producing quality furniture from American wood and products for centuries and are the best examples of “Made in America” furniture you can find. Reasonably priced, these pieces will last you a lifetime instead of being landfill matter within a year or two like most big box store furniture.

We know that not everyone has easy access to Amish furniture, so that is why we work hard to bring you only the best pieces from the best craftsmen around the country. If you’re interested in buying furniture that is made from real wood, by true artisans and in an environmentally sound way then please take a look at our wide selection, here at Amish-Furniture-Home.com.

Tags: amish craftsmen, Furniture, Solid wood furniture, Wood

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 17th, 2010 at 1:52 pm and is filed under American Made. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.