green seal specs for office furniture

8/8/2019 Green Seal Specs for Office Furniture

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3/8Choose Green Report

alternative blowing agents, such aswater, isoprene, acetone, pentaneand carbon dioxide with limoneneand terpene. These products areless harmful to the environment.

s Metal Coating

Metal plating produces a bright,durable and corrosion-resistantfinish for metal furniture. A common plating process useshexavalent chromium (CrVI) with acopper/nickel-plated undercoat.Releases of heavy metals-such aschromium and nickel-and cyanidecompounds from electroplatingprocesses are of environmentalconcern because of their toxicity.Hexavalent chromium and nickeldust are both classified by the EPA as human carcinogens. If metalplating is required for a piece of office furniture, tin-cobalt alloy,nickel alloy or trivalent chromium(CrIII) are recommended overhexavalent chromium plating.

It is relatively simple to designoffice furniture that does notrequire metal plating. Forexample, powder coating is a dryfinishing process using finelyground pigment particles and resin

which are electrostaticallycharged and sprayed onto apart to be coated. This is anexcellent alternative since itdoes not involve the use of heavy metals, and there

are no VOC emissions. It isalso possible to designuncoated metalfurniture or to usewater-based, low-VOCmetal paints.

s Adhesives

Adhesives cancause VOCemissions during

manufacturing and later

contribute to indoor air pollution.Many of the manufacturerssurveyed have switched toadhesives that have no, or verylow, quantities of VOCs. Theseinclude hot-melt glue and double-sided tape. For some processes,such as gluing a plastic laminate toa fiberboard surface, a solvent-based adhesive is still required.The proposed Green Seal standardfor adhesives requires that VOCcontent not exceed 20 grams perliter.

s Paints and Finishes

Paints and finishes can causeair-polluting VOC emissions asthey are applied. In addition, overthe lifetime of the furniture thesecoatings may continue to emit

VOCs, contributing to indoor airpollution. Most of themanufacturers surveyed haveconverted to finishes with no orlow levels of VOCs.

However, our survey indicatedthat many manufacturers are notsatisfied with the performance of

VOC-free top coating for woodsurfaces, so most manufacturersstill use solvent-based top coats.Other finishes that produce lowemissions of VOCs include a two-component, catalyzed coating that

uses a polyester or polyurethanebase, supercritical carbon dioxide/ solvent-based finish and a coatingthat uses ultra-violet light as acuring agent.

s Reusability, Recyclability andUseful Life

In general, products with a longuseful lifethe length of time theyare in serviceare better choicesenvironmentally than productswith a short life. They do not needto be refurbished as often orthrown away as soon, thusreducing demand for rawmaterials from the start and waste

at the end of the products life.

Refurbishing furniture is anexcellent way to extend the usefullife of a product. In fact, mostproducts can be refurbished andreused, thus reducing the amountof material sent to the landfill.Refurbishing is a growing industrywith approximately $1 billion insales per year.

Refurbished furniture costs 25to 70 percent less than comparablenew furniture. It is virtuallyindistinguishable from newfurniture and has a similar usefullife. And when it does becomeworn it can be refurbished again.Typically, refurbishing firmsreplace worn fabric, refinish metaland wood surfaces and relaminatework surfaces. You may be able tofind a local refurbisher in theYellow Pages. Or you can contactthe Office Furniture RecyclersForum (see Additional Sources of Information, page 6).

One final consideration isrecyclability. Products should beeasy to disassemble and should notcontain co-injected plastics-that is,materials that contain two types of plastic or a plastic and a fiber-because this makes recyclingdifficult.

Q U E S T I O N

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4/84 Choose Green Report

Whats Out ThereLarger manufacturers offer

hundreds of choices, from wool orramie fabric for office chairs, towater-based paints. Customers canselect from products containing

recycled content and low- or no- VOC finishes. Some smallermanufacturers offer productsmade from recovered wood orfrom agricultural fiberboard.

In our research, we contacted20 leading U.S. manufacturers of office furniture, 10 U.S.refurbishers of office furniture andfour smaller office furnituremanufacturers. Specifically, weasked them to identify thematerials they use in their officefurniture, to assess therecyclability and useful life of thefurniture and to provide emissionsinformation. The results of oursurvey are summarized in thetables below and to the right.

Recommended Office Furniture Refurbishers

1 This typically refers to components of the furniture removed so that theproduct can be refurbished.

2 Panel systems are the dividers that separate cubicles in the officeenvironment.

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This independent, non-profitforest-management institutionmonitors and assessescommercial forestrycompanies, promoteslocal communityeconomicdevelopment andeducates the publicabout sustainableforestry practicesaround the world.Certified harvestersearn the right to use thedistinctive SmartWoodseal, with the image of atree frog and a cross-section of a felled tree,on their products and intheir promotionalmaterial.

To meet SmartWoodscertification criteria:

(1) all forestry operations mustbe protective of the environment,for example by promoting water-

shed stability and conserva-tion of biological

resources;

(2) planning andimplementationof programsmustincorporatesustained-yield

production for allforest products

based on an understanding

of local forest ecologygrounded in documentedresearch; and

(3) all activities shouldhave a positive impacton the well-being of local communities.

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1 Manufacturers had representative products tested for emissions if theyhad the potential to emit formaldehyde or VOCs and they all met thefederal standards.

2 The life span of products varies by product and use. Warranties typicallyvary from 1-10 years depending on the product and the manufacturer.

Recommended Office Furniture Products

3 Scientific Certification Systems.4 Co-injected materials are, for example, a plastic and a fiber molded

together. These co-injected materials are typically difficult to recycle.5 They will manufacture office furniture from certified wood if the volume

ordered is sufficient.

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6/86 Choose Green Report

Making the RightChoice

If possible, purchase refur-bished office furniture instead of new furniture. Ideally, you shouldselect refurbished office furniturethat uses recycled materials andlow- or no-VOC coatings. Choose aproduct that uses VOC-freeadhesives. There are still a fewapplications, however, for which

VOC-free adhesives do not performwell. Also, when you place anorder, request the use of returnable, reusable or minimalpackaging.

The following recommendations

are for choosing specific materials:s Metal Office Furniture: Desksand Filing Systems

Choose products with less toxiccoatings. A good choice for a metalfinish is powder coating, whichproduces no

VOC emissions. Avoid productsthat use metalplating as a

coating,especiallychromium VI.

Selectproducts thatcontainrecycledmaterial. Most

of the companies surveyed saidthat their steel contains recycledcontent, but products producedoverseas may contain less recycledmaterial.

s

Wood Office Furniture: Desks,Chairs, Shelving and Cabinets

Select wood or fiberboardproducts that are made fromrenewable or sustainablyharvested material. Avoid choosingtropical hardwoods or endangeredwoods, and select domestic woodover exotic woods.

Choose furniture with low or noformaldehyde emissions. When

possible, select either formaldehyde-free fiberboard or solid woodproducts. If you select a woodfiberboard, avoid products that usea urea-formaldehyde glue. A phenol-formaldehyde glue ispreferable.

When considering furniturewith wood veneer, choose onethick enough to be refinished. TheCanadian Environmental ChoiceProgram recommends a minimumveneer thickness of 1/28" (0.9 mm).

Select a VOC-free stain and alow-VOC topcoat.

s Upholstered Products: Chairsand Cubicles

The modern office, with itsmodular design and open spaces,often uses upholstered panels to

separate work spaces. Considerthe environmental impact of fab-rics for these dividers as well asfor the chairs you choose. Forseating or cubicle panels, requestfabric made from recycled, recy-clable, reusable or biodegradablematerial. Fabrics should be dyedusing efficient processes, such assolution dying. The dyes shouldhave low toxicity.

Ask what type of foam-blowing

agent is used tocreate any foam,such as thatcontained in seatcushions. If possible, avoidfoamsthat useHCFCsasblowingagents.

Surveys

indicate that

if demand

increased for

environmentally

responsible

products,

manufacturers

would

produce more.ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Office Furniture Recyclers ForumOffice Furniture Recyclers ForumOffice Furniture Recyclers ForumOffice Furniture Recyclers ForumOffice Furniture Recyclers Forum301 N. Fairfax StreetAlexandria, VA 22314-2696

(800) 542-6672http://www.recyclefurn.org/

SmartWood ProgramSmartWood ProgramSmartWood ProgramSmartWood ProgramSmartWood ProgramRainforest Alliance65 Blecker Street, 6th FloorNew York, NY 10012(212) 677-1900http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/swr5.html

Canadian Environmental Choice ProgramCanadian Environmental Choice ProgramCanadian Environmental Choice ProgramCanadian Environmental Choice ProgramCanadian Environmental Choice ProgramEnvironmental Specifications for OfficeFurniture

http://www.ec.gc.ca/gog/procure/envspecof/

NRDCs Washington, D.C. Eco-OfficeNRDCs Washington, D.C. Eco-OfficeNRDCs Washington, D.C. Eco-OfficeNRDCs Washington, D.C. Eco-OfficeNRDCs Washington, D.C. Eco-Officehttp://www.igc.org/nrdc/nrdcpro/dcofc/dcofcch1.html

Good Wood AllianceGood Wood AllianceGood Wood AllianceGood Wood AllianceGood Wood Alliancehttp://www.web.net/~philipw/menu.html



is no reason that cabinets madefrom alternative materials shouldultimately cost more.

Consider Wheatboard, forexample. This fiberboard is madefrom an abundant, renewableagricultural byproduct: straw thatnormally is wasted when wheat isharvested. The material iscompacted into a sturdyfiberboard that is cheaper thanconventional wood particle board.

For its waiting areas and confer-ence rooms, NRDC also commis-sioned solid-wood furniture madefrom sustainably harvested wood.

Fabrics for the furniturecushions were made frombiodegradable wool and ramie.

NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSECOUNCILS ECO-OFFICE

I n June 1996, the NaturalResources Defense Council(NRDC) staff in Washington,

D.C., moved into their new Eco-Office. In addition to using lighting,appliances and flooring that reduceenergy costs and soften theenvironmental impact, they alsochose office furniture with theenvironment in mind.

All shelving and counter-topfoundations were made from alter-

natives to conventional fiberboardproducts, plywood and particleboard. Wheatboard and other alter-native fiberboards such as Gridcoreand Medite II, unlike traditionalmaterials, do not emit formalde-hyde, so they improve indoor airquality. These products are pro-duced from more sustainablesources, such as recycled wood fi-ber and agricultural waste. Thesealternative fiberboards haveanother advantage: They are stronger

than conventional particle board.

For now, none of the large stockcabinet manufacturers uses anyalternative fiberboard in theirproducts on a regular basis; there-fore, additional labor was requiredto build custom cabinets, adding toinstallation costs. However, there

The NRDC selected Environ(Phenix Bio-Composites) productsfor its countertops and shelving.This synthetic material looks a bitlike marble and has the feel of plastic but is made from newsprint,soybean flour, a color additive andproprietary adhesives.

Overall, this innovative projectadded about $4.90 per square footto the cost of newly constructed officespace. However, this figure is inflated

due to the pioneering environmen-tal design services associated with alarge-scale project done for the firsttime. Furthermore, some of the ad-ditional costs associated with thisdesign will be recouped in energysavings. As demand for many of theproducts NRDC selected increases,costs will decline.

FIBERBOARD PRODUCTS USED IN NRDCS ECO-OFFICE

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ManufacturersMinimize Waste andMaximize Profits

In recent years, many of thelarger office-furnituremanufacturers have tried toproduce more environmentallyresponsible products. Most of thesurveyed firms use efficientpackaging methods and packingmade from recycled material. They

have also been working to reduce

formaldehyde emissions fromwood products and VOC emissionsfrom finishes and adhesives. Someof the larger manufacturers haveworked with state pollution-prevention programs to reducewaste or to find uses for waste.Their efforts have reaped financialrewards: These companies havesaved money by designing moreenvironmentally responsible

products. Here are a few of the

innovative solutions somecompanies have found to minimizewaste.

Steelcase Inc. instituted a buy-back program that encouragesreuse of office furniture. Thecompany also ships 50 percent of its products uncartoned, therebyreducing packaging waste.

Continued on page 8


8/8

1730 RHODE ISLAND AVE., NWSUITE 1050WASHINGTON, D.C. 20036-3101

NON-PROFIT ORG.US POSTAGE

PAID

WASHINGTON, DCPERMIT NO. 5515

Effective July 1, 1997,Green Seals new address becomes:

Green Seal1400 16th Street, NW, Suite 300

Washington, DC 20036-2215

(202) 588-8400 phone(202) 588-8465 fax

www.greenseal.org

MOVING RIGHT ALONG . . .HON Industries produces pellet-ized fuel for stoves from scrap wood

material generated during itsmanufacturing processes. This di-verts 6,000 tons of wood byproducteach year from the landfill.

Haworth Inc. offers water-blownfoams and powder-coated metal finishes.These processes minimize air-pollu-tion emissions and reduce ozonedepletion and greenhouse gasses.

The Knoll Group switched fromsolvent to powder coating for metalfinishes. It also uses hot-melt gluesin several of their processes insteadof VOC-containing adhesives. And itships its Bulldog line of products inpackaging that can be reused.

Allsteel Inc. uses 40 to 60percent recycled aluminum in itsseating products.

Minimize Waste, Maximize ProfitsContinued from page 7

green seal specs for office furniture

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