Patio

Conventional Patio Furniture

Avoid conventional furniture, Engineered wood, such as particleboard, plywood, and MDF. They emit toxic vapors, contributing to indoor pollution and health issues like asthma and respiratory problems.

Mass-produced furniture is made with medium-density fiberboard (MDF) or oriented strand board (OSB). Harmful and questionable chemicals such as vinyl/PVC, perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), phthalates, or adhesives.

The majority of mass-produced furniture is made with cheap particleboard or synthetic laminates. 

• ❌ Synthetic material: Particleboard, flakeboard, plywood, Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF), veneers, or any other composite or engineered wood or other composite wood products can pollute indoor air quality, including high levels of formaldehyde (a human carcinogen). 

• ❌ Engineered wood: Engineered wood in furniture is not environmentally friendly, as the production process is energy-intensive, and it generates toxic waste and pollution. 

• ❌ Chemicals: in finishes, varnishes, polyurethanes, or stains.

• ❌ Wood from overseas: It creates pollution from shipping, including millions of barrels of oil and the resulting release of CO2.   

• ❌ Plywood: Plywood veneers use glue to stick wood peelings together with toxic chemicals, stick them onto a core of already extremely toxic MDF or particle board, and call this “wood” or “wooden” furniture. Plywood veneers are thin slices of wood peeled from a log, which are then used to disguise the low-grade, formaldehyde-based, wood scrap/dust boards used underneath. 

• ❌ MDF or medium-density fiberboard is used for drawer fronts, furniture tops and backs, cabinets, laminate flooring, molding, and doors. The waste fibers used to make MDF are basically pulp, meaning fibers that have been chemically separated from wood splinters, and digested in a soup of other chemicals, including petroleum chemicals, disinfectants, bleachers, etc., creating the consistency of a “dung cake,” before being bound with a considerable amount of formaldehyde. The dung cake hardens into a flat surface through the application of chemicals, high heat, and extreme pressure. According to the EPA, MDF “is generally recognized as being the highest formaldehyde-emitting pressed wood product.”

• ❌ Toxic Paints: Formaldehyde, benzene, toluene, VOCs,

Greenwashing Patio Furniture

Avoid Greenwashing patio furniture made by brands that pretend to be organic, eco-friendly, natural, or safe when it is not. They use misleading greenwashing techniques, tactics, and claims to convince you to buy their products! ​

Avoid greenwashing furniture brands that make products that claim to be “non-toxic” but are made from known cancer-causing agents and contain toxic chemicals like formaldehyde, VOCs, and other carcinogens. ​

• ❌ Not solid wood: Just because a piece of furniture says it is made from wood or wooden, doesn’t mean it’s 100% solid wood, or even contains any solid wood whatsoever. Composite and engineered woods are often called wooden or wood, and these man-made materials are toxic, and pollute indoor environments with chemicals, including known carcinogens, allergens, and developmental and reproductive toxins. 

• ❌ Chemical stain: used to disguise low-grade wood shavings to make them look like walnut or cherry.

The large majority of furniture comes from outside the country, using questionable materials, working conditions, processes, and protocols. They are cheaply and quickly made to satisfy the greedy requirements of the brand that is going to sell in the USA for profit at the expense of the workers, forests, environment, and your wallet.

This toxic and unsustainable furniture is manufactured abroad in faraway factories, often lacking in quality, controls, and ethical labor practices, and creating a polluting environment. 

Sustainable Furniture

​The best suitable furniture are made in the USA and with local and American materials

They are either made with Heavy-duty 100% recycled steel core or made from solid wood is the safer, healthier option, free from harmful chemicals like formaldehyde, benzene, and toluene, ensuring a healthier indoor environment.

🌿 Organic Patio furniture

If you choose wood furniture, choose organic, made with sustainably grown wood from ethically managed US forests, 100% solid wood constructions from solid Red Oak, Brown Maple, Hard Maple, Cherry, and Walnut Woods. Solid wood Bed Foundations sealed with linseed oil: The natural finish that is hand-rubbed onto the wood to protect the wood from moisture. 100% VOC-Free oil finish that is food-safe and chemical-free. The natural color of the wood

🌿 Metal Patio Furniture

Here is what to look for: 

• Heavy-duty 100% recycled steel core (as strong as new steel with a smaller environmental footprint)
• Non-toxic, fiberglass-infused resin absorbs sound. Advanced polymer resin.
• Made in the USA with American materials

Here you will find:

• ✅ Organic Bed Foundations  made in the USA and with American materials

• ✅ Heavy-duty 100% recycled steel core

• ✅ Sustainably grown wood from ethically managed US forests

• ✅ The finish that is Prop 65 laboratory tested to make sure it’s lead-free, Cadmium-free and Phthalate-free.

• ✅ Bed Foundations built by hand by American craftsman using time-honored techniques like mortise and tenon joinery. 

Organic Patio Furniture Certifications

✅ Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers: made with sustainably-harvested and regionally-sourced maple and poplar wood, certified by Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers, Inc., Natural materials and value the importance of responsible sourcing and manufacturing.

✅ UL/GREENGUARD: It is a third-party certification program that tests for chemical emissions from consumer products and materials. Certified to meet the world’s most rigorous chemical emissions standards and are UL Environment GreenGuard Gold certified against PBDE Flame Retardants, Prohibited Phthalates, Mercury, Lead & Heavy Metals, Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), 2-Methoxyethanol, Formaldehyde, Chloroform, Methylene, and 10,000 other harmful chemicals that can be found in traditional mattresses. These GreenGuard Gold-certified mattresses are tested and recertified every 90 days. GreenGuard Certificate. 

GREENGUARD Gold certified to ensure this product contributes to a cleaner, healthier indoor environment for your family. It has undergone rigorous testing for over 15,000 VOCs and air pollutants, meeting the highest scientific standards.

✅ Forest Stewardship Council® FSC Certified: FSC certification is an international organization that is dedicated to responsible forestry. It ensures that products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social, and economic benefits. FSC Certified means the source comes from certified mills and farms. Purchasing FSC-certified products helps prevent deforestation, including the conversion of natural forests into plantations. It protects the forests of local communities and even helps people rebuild their forest homes. 

✅ Rainforest Alliance: The Rainforest Alliance is the most prestigious certifier of FSC forests. That little green frog assures consumers that workers and their families enjoy dignified, safe conditions and that wildlife and habitats have not been harmed. Rainforest Alliance Certified farms have met rigorous social and environmental standards. 

✅ OCS100: The Organic Exchange OCS100 Certification Program ensures proper tracking of organic material from its source to the finished product. It refers only to the percentage of certified organic materials, not to the presence of flame retardants, VOCs, colorants, or dyes.

✅ MADE SAFE®: certifies products with a rigorous scientific screening process that only allows the use of ingredients that are not known or suspected to harm human health, animals, aquatic life, or ecosystems.

✅ Cradle to Cradle Certified™  evaluates products according to health impact, materials re-use, renewable energy, water stewardship, and social fairness. Cradle-to-Cradle GOLD certification.

The Best Organic Patio Furniture Brands

My number one organic and sustainable furniture brand recommendations are:

• 🌿 Kathy Kuo furniture 

Shop with my links to support my research!