A major issue becoming more and more prevalent in our society is the issue of Fast-Consumerism. Fast Consumerism is the concept where society is preoccupied with the rapid acquisition of material and consumer goods that are considered in fashion, which means products quickly become out-dated and become landfill as newer products become the next must-have.
There are many societal issues which come with this type of consumerism;
- Exorbitant amount of perfectly good quality products end up in landfill in addition to the already enormous amount of used and spent products
- Manufacturers and companies cut costs in production, making products that have a much shorter lifespan in order to keep up with trends meaning market quality is reduced
- Smaller business will close as they cannot keep up with the changing trends and production rates of changing demand
Fast Furniture
A branch of fast consumerism, much like fast fashion, is fast furniture. While fast fashion means piles of clothes in landfill daily, fast furniture means big bulky, perfectly good furniture thrown away especially when furniture uses plastics and cannot be easily broken down. Big companies are currently making cheap furniture that is designed to be used for short periods of time before being replaced with another piece of their same cheap furniture.
Furniture is meant to be long lasting, it is meant to be an investment in your home and your lifestyle but fast-consumerism is changing this outlook in the minds of consumers.
A trend with fast furniture is making products quickly from particle board in laminate or veneer meaning that when it gets damaged there’s no availability to repair it, it cannot be sanded back, repainted, re-stained. This type of design also means it is more susceptible to moisture damage and splitting. In this way fast consumerism puts an expiry date on furniture that means more expenses to the consumer and more harmful expenses to the world.
What we do:
QFurniture is standing out from the crowd, we are manufacturing for the long run and create products that last. We are defying the standard of changing your backyard furniture every year and showing everyone that quality doesn’t go out of style.
We use materials that are durable and long-lasting, that with a coat of beeswax or Linseed oil and a wipe down every 6 months should last you as long as possible. As our furniture is made for the outdoors it means it’s stronger and more natural than a lot of other products on the market. Using Eucalyptus and Acacia timbers means that we’re restoring wood to its natural environment and making it look beautiful as it does. Another benefit of using these timbers means that if any damage does occur it is available to be sanded back and re-oiled and it can be repaired.
Another way that we are breaking this cycle is that we are making our long-lasting designs as affordable as we can, this means that buying QFurniture doesn’t break the bank or fill up landfill simultaneously.
However we are always trying to improve, by designing our furniture to be long-lasting is not the final step in resolving societal issues such as this, promoting the good work we’re trying to do and trying to change the market is only part of this. We are also working towards Net-Zero and thinking about the impact of the environment in every decision we make.
We are doing our part and hoping to inspire others too, so join us on this journey and let us inspire you to make an impact with your shopping.