In the market for new furniture for your home office — or any other part of the house?

Consider green furniture! Prices are coming down every day as more and more consumers demand furniture made from sustainable safe materials.

What is so bad about traditional furniture?

Even the name brand stores typically sell book shelves made from medium-density fiberboard that contains formaldehyde and lacquer. Yuck! Furthermore, the lacquer often releases volatile organic compounds into the home.

Look for products certified by GreenGuard, an independent certification system for products with low levels of toxic emissions.

Wood is better than fiberboard, but consumers can avoid non sustainable, exotic woods by looking for the seal of approval from the Forest Stewardship Council, which certifies lumber cut in an environmentally responsible manner.