Vermont Woods Studios - Eco Furniture Blog

International Coastal Clean-up Day!

By Loryn Dion

 

In case you haven’t heard, this Saturday is International Coastal Clean-up Day, organized by the Ocean Conservancy. This year marks their 27^th anniversary of celebrating this initiative and they don’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. In 2011, almost 600,000 volunteers worldwide collected more than 9 million pounds of trash from our oceanic ecosystems. These trash items, such as cigarette butts, plastic bottles and bags and food wrappers, are responsible for polluting our waters and endangering our wildlife.

Vermont Woods Studios makes every effort we can to support initiatives like that of The Ocean Conservancy. In many areas of our company, you can find examples of how we support the preservation of our environment. We donate to local and national environmental organizations, we “green-up” our office space and we even sell recycled furniture!

Our Polywood Outdoor Furniture is the perfect addition to any green home. Made from more than 90% post-consumer recycled containers like milk or detergent bottles, these pieces are constructed using a process that makes them look and feel like real wood. That’s right. Durable, beautiful furniture that doesn’t harm our environment and actually helps to keep plastic out of our oceans. How much better can you get?

Here in the office, we decorate our “beach” area with Polywood and enjoy it all year long. We also have BIG plans for Polywood at our new Stonehurst home. Because that’s the thing about Vermont Woods Studios: While we are a fine, hardwood furniture company, VWS is built on sustainability and on protecting our environment.

This weekend, make plans to do something to support our oceans. Find a beach clean-up site near you, start or improve a recycling resolution in your home or office, or relax in a luxurious Polywood Adirondack Chair. However you choose to help, you’ll be glad you did! 

 

 

 

Loryn Dion is a Marketing Assistant at Vermont Woods Studios, an online furniture gallery which showcases Vermont's finest wood furniture. Follow our blog to learn about Vermont fine furniture, Vermont happenings, our mission, and our team.

PolyWood Outdoor Patio Furniture: Finding The Best Deal

 

Check out the Top 10 Reasons to Buy Polywood Furniture at Vermont Woods Studios.  Like us on Facebook and get a $50 coupon to use for Polywood or any other furniture on our website.  This is the Classic Adirondack Chair.

If you've discovered Polywood all weather, recycled plastic outdoor furniture you love it, right?  It's available in dozens of modern and traditional styles including Adirondack chairs,  rocking chairs, chaise lounges, outdoor dining tables, patio bar and counter height tables and more. 

 

Plus polywood pool and patio furniture comes in white, black and 11 colors: blue, teak, tangerine, red, sand, mahogany, lime, lemon, green, aruba and slate grey.  And it's made in America of recycled plastic drink containers, so while you're outside enjoying nature you can feel good about helping to preserve it through your purchase.

So now that you've decided to buy polywood, you're looking for the best deal.  This kind of high quality furniture isn't cheap.  Thus, where to go for the best price? 

Well, have you noticed that all the dealers charge the same price?  That's because the furniture maker (Polywood Inc) has determined the lowest price that dealers seem to be able to stay in business with, and set that as a required minimum price.  Dealers who violate the minimum price policy will likely not be in business for long-- either because Polywood refuses to sell to them or they've run themselves into bankruptcy.

As it turns out the best deal on Polywood isn't about the lowest price.  It's about the quality of the company you're buying from and the way they stand behind their products.  At Vermont Woods Studios we're committed to offering you the best values in Polywood furniture that you will find anywhere and we stand behind all of our furniture (including Polywood) with a lifetime guarantee (we're the only dealer who does this, as far as I know).  Check it out along with the Top 10 Reasons to Buy Polywood Furniture at Vermont Woods Studios.

American Made Outdoor Furniture: What's The Best Wood To Use?

 

The best wood to use for outdoor furniture isn't wood at all.  It's Polywood, made out of recycled milk jugs and guaranteed for a lifetime of outdoor use.

Tis the season for buying outdoor furniture.  Even in Vermont we have a couple nice days each year when everyone wants to lounge in the sun with a cold drink and a good book.

Our customers often discover us when they're searching for American made, eco-friendly furniture.  We've worked in collaboration with Vermont furniture makers for many years but have stuck to selling just sustainable indoor furniture for the dining room, bedroom and home office.

So when customers began to ask for outdoor porch, pool and patio furniture we were at a loss.  What type of wood could we make it out of?  The cherry, maple, walnut and oak woods we typically use for indoor furniture won't hold up to outdoor conditions.

Plus, we offer a lifetime guarantee on our furniture.  How would we do this for an outdoor line? 

We considered many options.  Teak and mahogany are about the only types of wood that would meet our standards for weather resistance and longevity but they are both rainforest woods that are often harvested illegally and unsustainably.  Not an option.

So after researching all the alternatives we selected an American made wood-alternative material for our first outdoor furniture line. It's called poly wood and it's made in Indiana of recycled plastic milk jugs.  It's not real wood, but it has the look, thickness, weight, and feel of real wood plus it's virtually indestructible and maintenance free.  No more scraping, painting, or weatherproofing needed.  Polywood recycled plastic furniture can even be left outside year round eliminating the need for seasonal storage.

So that's what we chose for our first outdoor furniture line.  We really do feel that Polywood is the best "wood" to use for outdoor furniture.  With summer being so short up here in Vermont, we want to spend it enjoying our all-weather outdoor furniture rather than maintaining it!  How about you?  Check out the Polywood furniture collections we offer.  It's eco-friendly, Made in America outdoor furniture and it comes with free shipping and a lifetime guarantee.  Pretty tough to beat, I say.

Ocean Conservation And Furniture

 

Be a part of the movement to protect our oceans!

I started Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture almost 7 years ago as part of a mission to help with rainforest conservation. We promote American made furniture that's built with local, sustainably harvested wood as an alternative to imported furniture made with illegal tropical timber, clear cut from the world's rapidly disappearing rainforests.

 

But a couple years ago when we were searching for an eco-friendly line of outdoor furniture, I began to learn that furniture is such a HUGE commodity it's manufacture affects ocean conservation as well as forest conservation.  Often when rainforests are clear-cut for timber, they are converted into plantations that require massive amounts of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. The whole process results in soil erosion, run-off, ocean pollution and coral bleaching. 

This knowledge is what led us to begin carrying our Polywood outdoor furniture collection which is made from recycled plastic beverage containers, rather than rainforest woods like teak or mahogany.   I know this is a convoluted pathyway, but that's what reminded me of today's designation as World Oceans Day. 

There's no denying it-- we are destroying the oceans and we need to take action to restore them.  90% of the big fish are gone and many of the fish caught today never even have the chance to reproduce. The average size of the remaining big fish has been cut in half in the last 50 years (the average weight of a swordfish caught today is 90 lbs., down from 266 lbs. in 1960).

The Green Prophet has some great suggestions if you're wondering what you can do to help restore the oceans.  In addition to avoiding the purchase of furniture made from tropical woods (like teak, mahogany, ipe and eucalyptus) you can also help by eating only sustainably harvested fish and learning more about ocean conservation.

OK, thanks for reading all this.  Now time to head out to the beach for a swim!

Gift Ideas for Mother's Day

 

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

© Wizdata | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

Flowers are always great for Mother's Day, but if you're looking for something a little different (and perhaps more extravagant) this year, how about something handmade in Vermont?

 

We're running a special for Mother's Day on Ken's handmade cutting boards (small and large), chopping blocks and wooden drink coasters.  These are gifts Mom can enjoy for many years!

 

If you think Mom should be relaxing instead of preparing and serving food, maybe you'll want to check out some of our new all weather patio, pool and deck furniture by Polywood. 

 

Whatever you think would delight Mom on this Mother's Day, it's probably time to get going on it today if shipping is involved.  At Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture, we're at the phone now and ready to help.  Give us a call!

 

What mother wouldn't enjoy relaxing by the pool or at the beach in this all weather patio, pool and deck furniture by Polywood?

The Ultimate in Eco Friendly Furniture

 

Peter Cook grows his own furniture at Pooktre

 

How cool is this?

 

Check out Peter Cooks website, Pooktre.  Peter's tree gardens are in Austrailia where you can learn how to shape your own tree, or commission him to grow and shape a tree for you.  If you choose the latter, it takes about 7 years or so till the tree is shaped and you can transport it to your own garden.

Pretty wild.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vermont Woods Studios Eco Friendly Furniture

 

 

All Weather Polywood Outdoor Furniture: Recycled From Plastic Trash

 

All weather outdoor pool, patio, beach and garden furniture by Polywood is made from recycled plastic bottles

Many thanks to our Vermont Woods Studios staff members who volunteered to pick up trash today as part of Vermont's Green Up Day.

 

We bagged about a dozen pounds of old beer bottles, empty cigarette packs and plastic shopping bags, most of which we were able to place in Vernon's recycle bins.

 

So that's a fun project for us to do and besides supporting our community it also it dovetails into our new line of Polywood all weather outdoor furniture. 

 

Polywood is a line of patio, porch, pool and beach furniture that's made from (90-100%) recycled plastic bottles.  We love the Polywood brand because of it's eco-friendly, green nature but also because it's 100% made in America and the quality is superior to any comparable patio furniture we've seen. 

 

If you're looking for super strong and sturdy all weather outdoor furniture check out these polywood collections on our website:

  *     Adirondack Classic Furniture

  *     Deep Seating Patio Furniture

  *     Modern Euro Poly Wood Furniture

  *     Kids Indoor - Outdoor Furniture

  *     Traditional Garden Furniture

 

Vermont Woods Studios Green-up crew

Many additional collections are available on our Outdoor furniture Sets and Collections page or use the top navigation bar for further detail.  Most pieces can be delivered to your patio or beach in less than a week.

 

 

 

 

 

The 3 Best Features Of Faux Wood All Weather Outdoor Furniture

 

 

Many times customers who come to us looking for real wood (usually teak or mahogany) outdoor furniture opt instead for our "faux wood" Polywood all-weather furniture. 

 

Why?  Well although we love the warmth and integrity of real wood, it's is increasingly being seen as inappropriate for outdoor, all weather furniture.  The main issue from an environmental standpoint is durability and longevity.  Eco conscious customers are looking for furniture (both indoor and outdoor) that's built to last a lifetime... stuff that's not going to end up in a landfill.  So for all you wood lovers (myself included), here are the:

 

Three Best Features Of Faux Wood All Weather Outdoor Furniture

1. Faux wood, Polywood furniture doesn't rot, mold, mildew, crack, flake or warp like real wood outdoor furniture does
2. Faux wood, Polywood furniture is maintenance free. No more scaping, sanding or painting.  It's made to rest and relax in, rather than create work at the end of the season
3. Faux wood, Polywood eliminates the need for winter storage.  You can leave your polywood furniture outside all winter.  So you save storage space, you save wear and tear on your back (remember wood and polywood furniture are heavy).  And you save the time it takes to haul that heavy furniture around every Spring and Fall

Now I know how hard it can be for wood lovers to come to terms with buying "fake wood".  I never would have considered it myself if I hadn't seen the statistics our environmental conservation partners are citing about the rate we're losing the world's precious rainforests.  But as I started to look into Polywood and try out their "faux wood" furniture I became hooked.  It looks fabulous, it's very comfortable and it's maintenance-free.  It's the clear environmental and design/style choice for all weather outdoor furniture. 

At Vermont Woods Studios, as wood furniture makers, our mission is built upon forest conservation.  We're especially committed to preservation of the rainforests-- the places where teak and mahogany outdoor furniture originate.  In concert with rainforest protection groups worlwide, such as Rainforest Relief, we'll continue to work showcasing better alternatives to outdoor furniture made of tropical woods as part of our rainforest conservation efforts. 

Still not convinced?  Here's a few more reasons to buy polywood "faux wood furniture".  Check them out and let us know what you think.

All Weather Outdoor Furniture From Recycled Plastic

No matter how worried we may be about global warming, you have to admit the early Spring weather felt pretty good today.  We put a couple of our colorful polywood chairs out in front of the office so we could soak up a few rays. 

Polywood all weather outdoor furniture is made from recycled plastic.  It's hard to believe that this high end, luxury beach and patio furniture is the product of plastic milk jugs and water bottles, but it's true! 

As Earth Day approaches, we're excited to let you know that this high end eco-friendly furniture helps to keep plastic trash out of our landfills and out of the ocean.  But don't let the recycled, green nature of this all weather outdoor furniture fool you into thinking it's quality is any less than the best. 

It's the only outdoor furniture I know of that is so strong, sturdy and durable it comes with a lifetime guarantee.  And because the color is infused throughout the poly lumber, there's no need to paint, scrape or polish these Adirondack chairs, patio dining tables and chaise lounges. All weather, recycled plastic outdoor furniture that's maintenance free and 100% made in America.  You gotta feel good about that.

Polywood All Weather Euro Furniture - This Week's Best Seller

 

Polywood Euro Recycled Plastic Outdoor Furniture

Two weeks ago we finally got our first snow of the year.  It melted quickly and this past week the weather's been in the 50s and 60s.  It's been a crazy year weather-wise in Southeastern Vermont.  But on the upside, an early Spring is always a welcome anomaly at Vermont Woods Studios.

Other people must be thinking about Spring too because our best seller this week has been Polywood Outdoor Euro Furniture.  You can picture yourself relaxing by the pool at this colorful, modern dining set... right?

Polywood beach and patio furniture is made in the USA out of recycled drink containers.  The Euro set is one of many different Polywood designs including Adirondack chairs, patio dining furniture, luxury deep seating mission style outdoor furniture, garden benches and even children's outdoor furniture.  You can customize it online in 12 different colors (blue, teak, tangerine, red, sand, mahogany, lime, lemon, green, black, aruba or white) and 3 different powder-coated aluminum frame colors (black, white or silver).

If you're thinking of buying new beach, pool or patio furniture this year, check out the Top 10 Reasons to Buy our all weather, recycled plastic Polywood furniture.  None the least of which-- it's the only outdoor furniture I've ever seen that carries a lifetime guarantee. 

Polywood: colorful, eco-rfiendly, recycled outdoor furniture that's maintenance free!

Spring Ahead with All Weather Recycled Plastic Outdoor Furniture

Guest blogger:  Dennis Shanoff
Vermont Woods Studios

 

While certainly not our toughest winter here in Vermont this year, tomorrows predicted high temperature nearing 60 degrees is welcomed by many up in these parts. Also welcomed by many is moving the clock forward this Sunday.

It seems a lot of us are ready for more daylight time, especially after work. Nice to get home after a long day at work and be able to walk the dog while still light out or pace about the yard and start thinking about this summer’s garden or other outdoor projects. Or maybe just sit outside, relax and unwind?

And hopefully soon it will be time to break out the old lawn & garden furniture and start the season of relaxing, unwinding, and dining outside. So it seems like this would be a good weekend to take stock of your outdoor furniture. And hopefully your outdoor furnishings are up for another season? However if you are faced with the prospect of scraping, sanding, and refinishing your outdoor furniture and dread the whole time-consuming, messy process-- then this would be a great time to consider an all weather outdoor furniture alternative.

The past few years have seen a big rise in the popularity of recycled plastic outdoor furniture. And Polywood, an American manufacturer of outdoor furnishings is one of the best all weather, maintenance free options available. Just as sturdy and heavy (won’t blow away) as traditional wood outdoor furniture without the upkeep hassle. Built using colored Poly Lumber (which is made from recycled plastic bottles) this material is virtually indestructible. Poly Wood will not splinter, crack, or rot and it is highly fade resistant. This is outdoor furniture you could use year after year and spend time using it, and not time up keeping it. After all, isn’t outdoor furniture intended to relax in and enjoy time outside and not become another seasonal maintenance project?

 

Recycled Plastic All Weather Adirondack Chair by Polywood

Beautiful, Modern, Indestructible Kid Friendly Furniture

Our kids are older now, but I remember when they were little we were always worrying about them getting hurt around our furniture.  Sharp edges and corners, glass tops, coatings and finishes were all a concern.

Well, now parents are getting much smarter about choosing kid-friendly furniture.  One option is to bring the beautiful, modern outdoor furniture that's become so popular over the last few years-- inside.

Check out this outdoor polywood furniture,  It doesn't look kid-friendly does it?  It looks like (and is) stylish, high quality, luxury furniture.  But guess what it's made of?  Recycled milk jugs.  It's all non-toxic, inert, virtually indestructible, super easy to maintain and guaranteed to last a lifetime.  There's no glass, no finish or sharp edges.  Furthermore, you can choose from dozens of durable Sunbrella fabrics for the cushions without worry about spills and dribbles.  The deep seating mission collection shown here offers a choice of outdoor faux leather cushions or Sunbrella fabrics.

Parents of small children: give it some thought!  Bring the outdoors furniture in.

Is It Possible To Make Polywood Furniture Assembly Instructions Interesting?

OUR GOOFY POLYWOOD ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS VIDEO

 

OK-- we introduced our new line of Polywood recycled plastic outdoor patio furniture this Spring.  Unlike our solid wood furniture, Polywood furniture is shipped in a box via UPS and it must be assembled by our customers. 

Several customers have asked how difficult it is to assemble the polywood pieces and we wanted to respond to that.  It's actually pretty easy but we didn't want to put people to sleep with a boring show of Ken with a screw gun traipsing through the step-by-step instructions.

So we decided to buy an Adirondack chair for each staff member and have a race to see who could assemble their chair the fastest.  We filmed it and are hoping it will at least be a mildly amusing way to convey the basics of assembling Polywood furniture.  Check it out for me.  It's definitely a goofy video, but the truth is... we get that way sometimes.  OUR FUNNY POLYWOOD ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS VIDEO.

Top 5 Ways to Go Plastic Free

 

 

Since we've been offering our new line of recycled plastic outdoor furniture, I've been learning more about plastics pollution and trying to figure out how Vermont Woods Studios Furniture can help reduce it.

 

 

 

I came across a list of Top 10 Ways to Go Plastic Free in-- where else-- the Plastic Free Times.  Here are 5 of those ideas:

*    BYOBottle- bring a stainless steel water bottle instead of drinking water out of disposable plastic bottles
*   BYOBag- bring your own reusable bag to the grocery store
*   Bring Back the Milkman- glass-bottled milk is now available in most grocery stores, including Trader Joe's
*   Say No to Straws- who really needs one anyway?
*   Use wax paper instead of saran wrap or better yet, use glass food storage containers

Lot's more tips are available in the Plastic Free times.  Check it out.  

 

I have to note also that for each of our recycled plastic outdoor chairs, an average of 500 milk jugs are taken out of the waste stream!

Recycled Plastic Makes Durable, All Weather Outdoor Furniture

Isn't it ironic that most things made of plastic are used only once and then thrown into the trash, although plastic itself is a material that lasts forever-- that the Earth simply cannot digest?  In fact, scientists tell us that every bit of plastic that has ever been created still exists, except the small amount that has been incinerated (which has become toxic air pollution).

It's probably not realistic to think we can eliminate single use plastics, like grocery bags and water, milk and soda bottles so perhaps the next best thing is to recycle them.  Can you believe this high end outdoor furniture that looks like teak wood, is actually recycled plastic?

 

 

 

So are these colorful, high quality Adirondack chairs.  They're made of 90-100% recycled milk jugs, while the faux teak furniture above is made from recycled plastic grocery bags.  I think they're beautiful and comfy, but the coolest thing is that they last forever.  Of course-- they're plastic.  The recycled plastic is made into faux lumber that has about the same weight and strength as teak wood.  A typical chair weighs 40-60 pounds and offers unparalleled resistance to weather, mold, mildew, salt and insects.  No big surprise-- have you ever seen a plastic water bottle that's been corroded or eaten by bugs?

We even give this all weather patio furniture a lifetime guarantee which is pretty much unheard of for outdoor furniture.  Check them out on our Vermont Woods Studios website, see what you think and let me know.  

 

 

FSC Certified Outdoor Furniture Challenges

This morning at Vermont Woods Studios I’m sitting here ever-so-comfortably in a gorgeous Bolivian cherry rocking chair, sipping tea, and marveling at the recent snow and the way it dusted the evergreens on the hillside. We’ve had many snowstorms in Vermont this winter and this is the time of year when I begin to think about – but not yet long for – spring, which in Vermont is still months away.

 

We’d hoped to be introducing a new line of outdoor furniture this spring, but given the current instability in the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) market, we’re going to focus instead on making our indoor furniture with locally harvested wood. 

 

The issue with outdoor furniture is that in order to have truly long lasting performance, the wood must be dense and disease, rot and mildew resistant. This usually means a tropical wood like teak or mahogany, both of which are becoming endangered due to clear-cutting of the rainforests. FSC does a great job in authenticating responsibly harvested wood, through their certification program which enables us to authenticate and have detailed knowledge of the chain of custody of our wood– from the landowners to the foresters, to the loggers, the sawmills and the furniture makers.  With tropical woods it’s important to verify that each link in the chain is certified as environmentally sound and sustainable. Otherwise, it’s a very good bet that the wood has been logged illegally.

 

I’ll keep you posted on the FSC market. At Vermont Woods Studios we look forward to offering a line of outdoor furniture asap that meets our criteria for beauty and quality while supporting our passion to save the world’s endangered rainforests.

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