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What Going Green Means To Some

By Khaw Chia Hui & Nicole Liang

We spoke to several people in the industry about the green subject.

FOROR A COUPLE of years the industry has bandied the buzzwords that have to do with being environmentally friendly. Companies are now talking about green certification, using FSCSC-certified wood and even creating furniture out of reclaimed wood. What does it actually mean for a company when they say they are green? Some say it’s the certification they received from the Forest Stewardship Council; some say it’s the manufacturing process whereby waste and by-products are treated while some claimed they are involved in using plantation wood. T here are no hard and fast rules when it comes to this, adding to confusion on the buyer side. Generally, companies will adhere to rules and regulations imposed on countries they want to export to.

Reclaimed wood: The new kid on the block

Ploss & Co GmbH is a German company established since 2006 with a factory in Semerang, Indonesia. According to owner Harold Ploss, they specialise in outdoor furniture and customised products with own design.

He said they have been importing furniture for over 20 years and had always faced problems in claims (for defects). However, with their own factory, claims rate dropped from eight percent to two percent. More importantly, they launched an indoor range made with reclaimed wood at the International Furniture Fair Singapore this year.







So far they are using reclaimed teak from plantations grown in Java. He also mentioned that they tried to use FSCSC-certified teak from Costa Rica but found that the quality is not the same. Their new products come in three different stains used in buffets and hutches, TVTV stands, tables with and without extensions and matching wooden chairs.
“Great response so far, especially from Australia. The grey stain pretty much goes with anything in any consumer’s home,” he said.

As we speak, they are working with rosewood for an indoor range. It would be a rosewood veneer over a solid wood core (of other species). Rosewood has not been available for a long time in the market. It

Another player in the reclaimed wood segment is Wesbrook. Thomas Ni, its co-founder expressed that they took two years to develop the use of reclaimed wood in furniture. Now, every piece of furniture is made from reclaimed wood with no use of new wood at all.

“We don’t cut down trees anymore. China tears down uncountable number of houses every day. The country is huge and urbanisation is occurring faster. Our vendors go out there to collect the unwanted woods, such as 30 to 40 year-old floorings, walls and ceilings usually made of pine.

“The challenge is, only half of the reclaimed wood we buy is usable. Although it is cheaper than new wood, we take a longer time to select the usable ones so the opportunity cost is high as well,” he said.

Going green instead of waging price wars

Beijing Xinfasheng Furniture Co Ltd is established in 1988 and has a factory in East Beijing. In their efforts of turning green, they obtained ISOISOISO9001, ISOISOISO 140001 and the China Environmental Label Product Certification. Right now, they have a strategic partnership with Germany’s Pfleiderer Aktiengesellschaft to import all wood panels from them and other woods imported from Kronospan GmbH only.

The founders originated from Ningbo, a place relatively unmarred by industrialisation with beautiful sceneries. However, when they came to Beijing, they were shocked by the pollution there hence made a decision to make eco-friendly furniture.


Their decision was just as they made RMB500 million in sales revenue in 2009 alone. The factory is able to produce 12 to 15 containers of sofas daily for export and the export market is only 40 percent of their production. The company also does non-standard lines of customised furniture.

“Green quality is a way to steer away from price wars. It wa¬s difficult in the beginning, some 20 years ago, to make local and foreign buyers see the importance of eco-friendly furniture. We’ve had to educate them,” said Chen Qian, Vice General Manager and Lin Gao Bao, President.

In fact their brand name literally means green island, professes their commitment on being eco-friendly.
“Those who understand the importance of green furniture will see our company as a bench mark. If they do not understand this importance then there is no basis for comparison, of us, with other brands. Once the WTO and FTA are fully in force, we will be competitive enough alongside international brands.

Being green is still a bit more pricey and price is still a very sensitive issue with buyers. But once our brand standing is there, people are more willing to pay more,” they added.

Early adopter

Zhejiang UE Furniture is a green enterprise in the province with a ISO 14000:2005 – one of the earliest companies in China to achieve that. CEO John Zhang has plenty to say about the green issue especially in his home country, China.

“The environmental regulations may not affect a company in the short term but as government control grows more stringent, the company which hasn’t been keeping up will find it costlier to implement eco-compliant controls later,” he said.

“Green begins from the purchasing stage. Suppliers must also adhere to environmental regulations. It is about the entire chain, not just an individual company. They must have this consciousness. And it is not just for the environment, but also for the safety of the end users of our furniture.



“It is difficult to find many such suppliers and we can’t expect them to become compliant overnight. It will take time to educate and nurture them.”

Materials should also be bio-degradable. This will lighten the end users’ burden in the long run. In the future, China will follow other countries’ example of imposing a fee on disposing non-recyclable or non-biodegradable household waste.

“Our products must take this into account so our end users won’t have to spend more to dispose a chair when its lifecycle has ended. Eco-friendliness is one important factor we must consider in the R&D stage. Going green must be done early, we have that foresight,” he added.

It seems that this foresight paid off handsomely as they made US$73 million in sales revenue for 2009 while a projected US$85 million in sales revenue for 2010. Their export markets include US (40 percent), Asia Pacific (30 percent) and Europe and Africa (30 percent).

Thailand has something to say too

To get a Thai perspective, we also spoke to Jirawat Tangkijngamwong, Secretary-General

Thai Furniture Industries Association on his views and what the furniture industry in Thailand feels about the green movement.

“In Thailand there is no such thing as FSC-certified teak because it is not yet widespread. The forest owners are also not interested in this certification. But in order to export teak furniture, we still need some kind of endorsement. The government is coming up with a green furniture certification programme that certifies plantations and the government is still working with the Ministry of Environment and academics to develop the programme,” he confessed.





For starters, he felt that the Government will not develop a set of criteria that no one can follow and this programme will have different criteria for companies of different scales. The TFA has representatives on the committee designing this programme to lend a voice to the industry.

Under the concept of “Go Green Industry”, Thai furniture-makers are committed to saving 20 percent on energy a year and using non-toxic materials.

“Basically, we are going to nurture a mindset that fuses design with eco-friendliness. It’s a step towards going green we are making. The environmental issue is not just a fashion anymore. It is a must and beyond the question the profitability,” he said.

“Thailand is generally happy to move in this direction. We only have slightly more than 170 furniture companies in Thailand so it is relatively easy to transform the entire industry.”

Backing plantation wood

Born in Sabah, a beautiful state in Malaysia and surrounded by tropical rainforests, Joseph Tsang is a great advocate for plantation timber since 10 years ago. His company manufactures outdoor furniture using acacia wood sourced from plantation timber.

According to him acacia is not a local wood species but a foreign one, it grows fast, dominant in the plantation and durable. Although acacia coming from plantations are not FSC-certified (yet), he felt that this is an interim measure until proper guidelines are available.

“I believe that the native Indians were right. We are borrowing this world from our children and we have to change our consuming habits before the natural resources are gone for good. I would say that the European market has matured when in comes to the green issue while Malaysian manufacturers are still in the learning process and have a lot of catching up to do,” he said.

He also mentioned that the unclear rules and the lack of stringent checks have dampened the green efforts.

“A good example is a case whereby this global furniture manufacturer is always talking about the environment and their processes are certified to be green. However, an exposé revealed that one of its suppliers of steel cases were employing children and these poor children were seen dipping those cases into chemicals with their bare hands. Something like that caused legal repercussions and a PR crisis,” he explained.

Hence, he urged companies to also check on their suppliers so ensure that they too comply with the proper rules and regulations.