Companies and Brands

Avoid All Furniture Brands Except These 12

Aaron Webber

Published: June 16, 2024 9:30 am

There are almost countless options when it comes to buying new furniture. There are stores with physical locations, online-only, and secondhand stores. In a consumer environment where the convenience of same-day free shipping is the easiest, but not the most ethical choice, it can be really tempting to buy a cheap, low-quality, ethically ambiguous sofa from monopolizing companies.

If you resist the dopamine hit that comes from hitting that “purchase,” button, you might be able to be open to more ethical, sustainable brands that treat people fairly, source responsibly, and try their best to be better for the planet and better for humanity. We’ve curated a list of just such brands for your consideration. These brands are high-quality, for any budget, and will last much longer than anything that comes same-day.

We also included information about each company, and ranked their prices using one to three dollar signs.

Why Are We Talking About This?

Furniture is among the major investments families make when updating their home or moving to a new house. If you’re going to spend a lot of money on anything, you want to make sure you’re not only getting good quality products but supporting a company that is deserving of your patronage. We did the work of finding companies that fit both criteria.

#1 Maiden Home

• Furniture Type: Benches, Ottomans, Tables, Seating, Bedroom
• Price: $$$
• Ethics: American Made, Greenguard Certified, Woman Owned, Natural Materials

Maiden Home

Maiden Home offers handcrafted-to-order furniture that is customizable and handcrafted in North Carolina with eco-friendly manufacturing practices. Maiden Home offers a lifetime guarantee, payment plans, and sustainable materials. Customers can have a consultation with an in-house interior designer to bring their design goals to life. Maiden Home offers, “design-driven luxury for the modern home.”

#2 Avocado

• Furniture Type: Bed Frames, End Tables, Dressers, Mattresses, Seating, Ottoman, Benches
• Price: $$
• Ethics: Greenguard Certified, Natural Materials, Climate Neutral, Certified B Corp, Nontoxic

Avocado

We spend half our day on our mattresses, that’s why it’s important for Avocado to give you a good experience. It uses 100% Certified Organic materials using a “Farm To Mattress,” process. Avocado uses GOTS-certified organic wool from northern India, and organic latex from Kochian rubber trees. All materials are sent to its factory in Los Angeles where they are handmade into mattresses and other products.

#3 Kaiyo

• Furniture Type: Beds, Tables, Chairs, Sofas
• Price: $–$$
• Ethics: Plant Trees, Budget Friendly

Kaiyo

Kaiyo buys and sells pre-owned high-end pieces to contribute to a circular economy. Besides like-new condition items that are inspected, and cleaned, they also sell “fixer-uppers,” for even more savings. Kaiyo believes in empowering customers to help the planet while also enjoying luxury furniture. After purchasing, furniture is delivered by a white-glove delivery team that will set up your pieces free of charge. Selling on Kaiyo is a breeze as well! After submitting your used furniture, a team will come and pick it up for you. Customers earn a revenue share based on the resale price.

#4 The Citizenry

• Furniture Type: Tables, Seating, Décor, Bathroom, Bedroom, Ottomans, Storage
• Price: $$
• Ethics: Cruelty-Free, Fair Trade

The Citizenry

The Citizenry believes that ethical craft should meet elevated design. They also are the largest home retailer with 100% of its products being fair trade. It offers “well-traveled designs,” that celebrate the culture the products come from. Are you worried about the downline being ethical? The Citizenry pays its downline twice the fair-trade wage requirement. They are partnered with 3,938 artisans globally including weavers, ceramicists, woodworkers, sculptors, spinners, and other makers to create a sustainable world market.  The Citizenry sells furniture, bedding, textiles, mirrors, baskets, décor, bath, and kitchen products.

#5 Eva

• Furniture Type: Chairs, Tables, Sofas, Beds, Mattresses,
• Price: $$
• Ethics: Certified B Corp, Natural Materials, BIPOC Owned, Family Owned

Eva

This woman-founded certified B corporation offers affordable and sustainable furniture that is minimalist in style and high in functionality. Designed out of Melbourne, Eva ethically sources all of its materials and works hard to ensure sustainable forest management and low carbon emissions. Eva sells adaptable mattresses, and modular sofas, and even offers furniture bundles

#6 GreenRow

• Furniture Type: Lighting, Curtains, Rugs, Bedding, Bedroom, Nursery
• Price: $$$
• Ethics: Recycled Material, Fair Trade, Nest’s Ethical Handcraft Program, Plants Trees

GreenRow

GreenRow uses sustainable materials such as responsibly sourced linen, cotton, coir, jute, natural latex foam, recycled steel, and FSC®-certified wood to craft its products. All products are free of single-use plastics. Its products are designed to be reused, repaired, and passed down for years. GreenRow is partnered with Fair Trade USA, and Nest’s Ethical Handcraft Program. It also plants a tree for every piece of wood furniture it sells. GreenRow is committed to contributing to a circular economy.

#7 Sabai

• Furniture Type: Sofas, desks, tables, pillows
  
• Price: $$-$$$
• Ethics: Plastic Free, Natural Materials, Recycled Materials, American Made, Chemical Free

Sabai

Sabai offers affordable, sustainable, comfortable furniture pieces. It even has a Sabai Revive program where you can purchase inspected and repaired second-hand Sabai products. It offers replacement parts for your furniture to extend the life and use of your pieces.

Sabai is an affordable luxury furniture brand. It uses non-toxic and sustainable materials that you will love using. All furniture is American-made in ethically run factories. Customers can customize orders, and all pieces arrive in flat boxes and are easy to assemble.

#8 Keter

• Furniture Type: Outdoor, Storage, Garden
• Price: $–$$
• Ethics: 100% Recyclable, Transparent Sustainability Report

Keter

Keter is a furniture company that has been around since 1948 and specializes in producing resin outdoor furniture that is built to be stylish, durable, and weather-resistant. Each product is guaranteed quick assembly with common household tools.

Keter uses sustainable technologies to make every piece functional and extremely durable. It believes in creating 100% recyclable products and reducing its use of virgin resources to eliminate waste and promote a circular economy. It is dedicated to use up to 55% recycled material by 2025. Keter guarantees that its products will not rust, warp, fade, peel, or discolor. In 2022, it used 137,000 tons of recycled material.

#9 Joybird

• Furniture Type: Bookshelves, Tables, Chairs, Desks, Outdoor
• Price: $$–$$$
• Ethics: One Tree planted

Joybird

Joybird is committed to sustainability. It is partnered with One Tree Planted, is Greengaurd Gold Certified, and uses fibers made from recycled PET bottles and sustainable fabrics. It also has sustainability consumer tips on its website!

Joybird is a mid-century modern custom-made furniture company. It believes in providing sustainable and high-quality products at fair prices. Customers can customize each piece to meet their specific needs. It is so sure you will love its furniture, that each piece comes with a 90-day guarantee.

#10 Boll & Branch

• Furniture Type: Beds, Dressers, Nightstands, Benches, Mattresses
• Price: $$–$$$
• Ethics: Traceability, Woman Founded, 100% Organic Cotton

Boll & Branch

As the first textile company to be certified with the Fair Trade USA, Boll & Branch has a transparent traceability program. You can enter your product’s lot number on their website, and you will see the origins of your pieces, starting with the farms the materials were grown on. They have a closed end-to-end process by first partnering with small, family-owned farms that exclusively grow organic cotton from non-GMO seeds. In the ginning and spinning phase, the seeds are repurposed into cottonseed oil and sold, with the proceeds going directly back to the farmers.

All its woven fabrics are dyed to OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 guidelines. It does not use synthetic inputs, nor sandblasted finishing which is harmful to workers. It also excludes harmful chemicals and toxins from its dying process. Boll & Branch requires all its partners in its downline to be certified with top social certification standards.

#11 Floyd

• Furniture Type: Bed Frames, Tables, Nightstands, Shelves, Sofas, Patio Furniture
• Price: $–$$$
• Ethics: Carbon Neutral, FSC-Certified

Floyd

Floyd contributes to a circular economy by creating adaptable designs that have individual parts that can be easily replaced or fixed if damaged. It specializes in modular furniture that is easily customizable. It wants to offer pieces that will last you a lifetime. All raw materials are sourced from America. Floyd also has a “Full Cycle” program where you can buy imperfect and returned products to save them from the landfill. Some furniture stores have modular sofas, which isn’t a new concept. Floyd has modular sofas, bed frames, and shelving systems! 

#12 Koskela

• Furniture Type: Coffee Tables, Dining Tables, Charis, Sofas, Tree Vases
• Price: $–$$$$
• Ethics: Certified B Corp

Koskela

Koskela is an Australian-based Certified B Corp that goals to create sustainable heirloom furniture that you can enjoy for generations. All of its pieces are easily repaired, and intentionally designed. It has lines of commercial furniture, home furniture, and even school furniture. Koskela partners with First Nation Artists (71 so far and counting), and has generated over $1.4 Million in revenue for those artists. It also produces everything in Australia partnered with local manufacturers and workshops, and always fair trade.

Koskela is proudly Australia’s very first Certified B Corp. It is committed to using sustainable materials sourced through ethical suppliers. It has goals to be fully circular by 2027. Koskela also has a “Koskela ReHome,” section where you can buy second-hand Koskela products.