07/17/2019
ANTIQUES: AN ENVIRONMENTALISTS PATH TO BEING GREEN
By Kimberly Woodward
“Nothing is so dangerous as being too modern. One is apt to grow old-fashioned quite suddenly.”…Oscar Wilde.
The 19th century writer, Oscar Wilde, understood about being green and being an environmentalist long before it was in fashion. When something becomes too modern, it becomes outdated very quickly which leads to waste and then waste leads to pollution.
In examining our modern world, we find waste everywhere… especially in the furniture retail business. Ask yourself how many IKEA, Pottery Barns and Wayfair furniture purchases are made each day. Then ask yourself how long do people keep these pieces in their home before the furniture starts to fall apart or looks out of date and it ends up in a landfill.
There is an answer to this problem which supports environmentalism… Antiques. Antiques combat waste and pollution in multiple ways.
First, buying antiques reduces the amount of waste we put into landfills. Modern furniture intentionally has a very short life expectancy and very low quality so that you will need to purchase new furniture more frequently. In contrast, the quality, the beauty and the tremendous craftsmanship of antiques lends to a very long life for the piece. It is not unusual to find a high quality piece of antique furniture that is well over 100 years old versus a 5 year old piece of worn modern furniture that is headed to the dump.
Second, antiques help to preserve our natural resources. Every time the furniture manufacturers mass produce a product, they are depleting our natural resources from trees to petroleum to air and water in order to create a sub-standard product. Antiques, however, do not drain our natural resources that we are using today.
Third, by choosing to buy an antique over a modern piece of furniture, air pollution is reduced. Most modern furniture is produced by chemical processes using Volatile Organic Compounds. This process produces off-gassing which causes massive air pollution. In contrast, there is no air pollution created from buying antique.
Fourth, antiques leave very little carbon printing. The purchase of new furniture leaves a very large carbon footprint. It travels long distances for shipping…. from cargo ships to trains to trucks. All of these methods of shipment uses large amounts of fuel and increases pollution levels. However, if you buy antique, you are buying locally. It not only has a minimal carbon footprint, but it also supports the small businessman and supports your local community.
Fifth and final, consumerism is rampant in the United States. As Americans we make up 5% of the world’s population, but we consume 24% of the world’s energy. We desperately need to decrease our consumption of the world’s resources before we fully deplete them. By choosing to buy antique, you are purchasing something with embodied energy rather than a product that drains our energy, thus decreasing our consumption.
Antiques are beautiful, high quality and craftsmanship that embody energy rather than deplete it. Choosing an antique for your home would be a smart and significant step in helping repair and sustain a greener world
