Ecological furnishing is a lasting trend. Kitchen furniture made of natural materials is an evergreen tree in the kitchen and is very popular. Read everything about sustainable kitchen furniture here, learn about innovations that encourage rethinking, and get an overview of the most critical test marks and environmental labels in kitchen furniture.
Keyword sustainability: what you should pay attention to when buying a kitchen cabinet
One thing is clear: the “ecological footprint” that your kitchen leaves behind throughout its life is not only determined during daily work in the kitchen but already when you buy it. Even with the most careful use of resources, the wood that kitchen furniture is made of comes from the forest. But what you can do when deciding for or against a kitchen manufacturer is pay attention to the environmental label and check the sources of the raw materials from ecological and social aspects. Climate-neutral production is also becoming increasingly important. Water, energy, and CO2 should be saved during the production of the kitchen furniture, and the transport should be carried out with as few emissions as possible. Short distances between the material and production location, between the warehouse and the end customer, are just as crucial to a packaging policy that is as environmentally friendly as possible.
The professional consultants from Parlun can answer any questions you may have.
Wooden kitchen cabinets – Unparalleled ecological?
Besides natural stone used mainly for the worktops, the front runner among natural materials for the kitchen is wood. Raw materials with pleasant characteristics are often processed into worktops and form the main body and components of the natural kitchen cabinet fronts. Even if natural raw wood is considered sustainable and ecological, this does not necessarily apply to wooden kitchen cabinets.
But what is a wooden kitchen cabinet ecological? The following criteria must be met:
- The kitchen cabinet is made of solid wood or wood materials that have been proven free of harmful substances.
- The wood comes from domestic forests with sustainable management.
- The wood is free of pollutants and not varnished because this is the only way it can breathe and ensure a better indoor climate.
- Eco-labels confirm non-pollution and sustainability (Eco-control, PEFC, and FSC labels).
In our article on natural wood kitchen cabinets, we’ve collected information you need to know about wooden kitchen cabinets, the differences between veneer, solid wood, and solid wood kitchen cabinets, and an overview of the most popular types of kitchen wood.
Linoleum in the sustainable kitchen
Linoleum is suitable as a decorative layer for sustainable kitchen cabinet fronts because it consists exclusively of natural materials.
Including:
- Linseed oil
- Natural resins
- Wood flour
- Natural color pigments
Linoleum is harmless to nature and health, so it can even be composted. It contains no toxins, heavy metal residues, or plasticizers. In addition, ecologically produced linoleum has wood flour without tropical wood. So don’t let the smell of linoleum upset you. This is caused by natural linseed oil.
Tip: When choosing your linoleum front, consider environmental labels like the Blue Angel. So you can be sure that it is an environmentally friendly material.
Similar to wood, linoleum is a natural material with a unique touch. It feels soft and warm and harmonizes well with wooden surfaces due to its matte appearance.
Pollutants in kitchen cabinet
When choosing kitchen furniture, quality is the first factor you should pay attention to. In this way, you can use your built-in kitchen cabinet for a longer time and save resources for a new kitchen or replace your kitchen. For healthy living reasons, it is recommended to check the pollutant emission of your kitchen furniture. Pollutants in the kitchen will endanger your health and spread into the environment. First and foremost, when it comes to kitchen furniture, it is about formaldehyde, styrene, and other adhesives and solvents used in the manufacture of most chipboard and fibreboard.
Increasingly lower benchmarks are affecting the kitchen industry from abroad. The extremely strict standard in the USA’s Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) requires that all individual parts of wood-based furniture such as chipboard, plywood, and other wood composite panels be labeled accordingly. However, Chinese kitchen manufacturers strictly follow and significantly upgrade the E1 and E0 standard.
IMPORTANT: It is not possible to do without formaldehyde entirely because this substance is already present in small quantities in the tree.
Kitchen furniture rethought – sustainable Green Line kitchen cabinets from Parlun
Anyone who has doubts about the environmental compatibility of kitchen cabinets can take a different route, as a lot of wood has to be cleared from the forest to produce them.
Chinese kitchen cabinet manufacturer, Parlun’s Green-Line Kitchen Concept uses the so-called bio-panels-a panel developed and certified according to ecological standards and made mainly from recycled wood to be described as sustainable. Therefore, it is worth studying the materials used in kitchen buildings carefully.
Labels for climate-neutral and climate-conscious kitchen manufacturers
The World Quality Association for Furniture has launched the “Climate Convention for the Furniture Industry.” The goal of this Convention is to protect the climate. The Association is helping the United Nations meet its target of 1.5 degrees (a temperature limit for global warming by 2100). Carbon dioxide emissions in furniture manufacturing should be reduced or compensated to limit temperature rise.
To not just stay with mere words, The World Quality Association for Furniture provides furniture manufacturers with the opportunity to participate in climate protection actively. Anyone who wants to take part in the Climate Convention must meet the requirements of the Quality Association and compensate for their carbon dioxide emissions.
With the help of three labels, furniture buyers can immediately see how climate-conscious a manufacturer is:
- Climate Convention: (only) commitment to climate protection (weakest label)
- Climate-neutral furniture manufacturer: climate-neutral furniture production
- Climate-neutral furniture: individual pieces of furniture produced in a climate-neutral manner (strongest label)
Climate Convention Label for eco-friendly kitchen cabinet manufacturers
Kitchen cabinet manufacturers who want to show a sense of responsibility towards the environment can participate in the Climate Convention as furniture manufacturers. The “Climate Convention” label is awarded to those who regularly disclose their CO2 footprint (=emission calculation/CO2 balance sheet) and those committed to reducing their emissions from furniture production.
Climate-neutral kitchen furniture manufacturers
If the Climate Convention member has offset its CO2 emissions within the specified period, it also receives the RAL quality mark “Climate Neutral Furniture Manufacturing.” This is about the entire furniture production of the manufacturer. The requirements for this are:
Reduce carbon dioxide emissions in furniture production (switch to green electricity, etc.)
Offset emissions through climate protection projects such as reforestation
The Climate Convention regularly checks whether the manufacturer meets these requirements based on their respective carbon dioxide balances. The climate protection certificate proves whether all unavoidable emissions have been compensated.
Label of individual furniture for sustainable production
Climate-neutral manufacturers can obtain certification specifically for their furniture. According to the “Furniture Climate Neutral” label, kitchen buyers can immediately realize that a piece of furniture is produced in a climate-neutral manner. At the same time, the kitchen furniture manufacturer is considered to be climate-conscious, so it also has a climate label.
Six Ecological Labels
When looking for sustainable kitchen furniture, you will be confronted with various labels and certificates. For example:
- ISO 50001 Certification
- Furniture made in Germany
- GS mark
- RKT recycling certificate
However, not all the labels explicitly address the requirements of kitchen furniture or represent sustainability. The following Six labels refer directly to the production conditions and emissions that arise during the manufacture of kitchen furniture.
This is an overview of the six most essential eco-labels to look out for when buying a kitchen cabinet:
The “Golden M” quality mark for furniture
The Gold M is one of the RAL quality marks secured under goods law which mainly refers to the quality of products. The label is awarded to furniture that has been independently tested for durability, material quality, life, safety, and health compatibility. The tests also include pollutant levels, environmental awareness, and the contribution of furniture to a healthy life.
“Emission Class for Furniture” Label
With the “Emission Class for Furniture” Label, the pollutant emissions from the furniture are under closer attention, namely formaldehyde and other substances harmful to health and the environment. With its classification from A (minimum pollutant emission) to D (only permissible pollutant emission), the award is reminiscent of the global energy label for electronic devices.
“Blue Angel” Eco-Label
The “Blue Angel” is also an essential eco-label of furniture. It clearly shows that the pollutants have been tested and are harmless to health. Testing evaluates finished products and the entire “life cycle” from production to disposal. Whether it is kitchen furniture or tables and seats in living room kitchens, eco-labels indicate that wood products come from sustainable forestry and have low emission levels. In the case of award-winning products, the blue label must also have a short link to the award criteria. Optionally, the label can be combined with an explanatory field that reveals which product features have been specially awarded.
“PEFC” sustainability label
The PEFC certificate guarantees that the raw materials for wooden furniture come from sustainably managed forests. The label sees itself as a global forest and aims to develop strict environmental standards in forestry across the board. Anyone who buys PEFC-certified wooden furniture can rely on sustainability across the board. Attention is paid to everything from reforestation to preserving diverse flora and fauna to workers’ rights in forestry. PEFC distinguishes solid wood furniture and veneers, wood-based materials, chipboard, and other kitchen-related products.
“FSC” label for Sustainable Development
The FSC label operates similarly. This environmental label ensures that the wood used comes from sustainable and environmentally friendly forest management. It evaluates the source of wood used to make furniture, not the furniture itself. According to the World Environment Agency, the FSC label is considered very high quality in the wood product field. It comes in three grades: FSC 100% (made entirely from FSC certified wood), FSC Mix (70% made from FSC certified or recycled materials), and FSC Recycled (100% of products made from recycled materials).
Ecological Label of “Ecological Research Institute”
The Ecological Research Institute measures emissions and certifies furniture made of wood, plastic, and metal with its label. It is intended to make purchasing decisions easier for health-conscious kitchen buyers. Furniture made from tropical woods is only awarded the label if the wood comes from sustainable forestry and is certified by the FSC.
Conclusion: Eco-label is a guide to buying kitchen cabinets
Those who value sustainability should pay attention to eco-labels when choosing new kitchen cabinets. Recognized labels, such as “Blue Angel” or “Golden M,” help identify sustainable kitchen cabinets. It is best for kitchen buyers to inquire whether the kitchen manufacturers produce sustainable kitchen furniture. You can check whether the kitchen cabinet you want has an eco-label in the studio. Sustainability, however, also means not always buying but relying immediately on high quality. The source of the wood matters: Only sustainable wood from the region is genuinely ecologically harmless.
Sustainable bargains are also possible: You will find sustainably produced kitchen cabinets in our sample kitchen exchange.
