Being eco-friendly is incredibly important to a great many households nowadays, as information regarding global warming and environmental issues increases.

There are the usual ways of being environmentally friendly at home, such as walking to work rather than driving, recycling and using energy saving light bulbs, but what about the actual furniture that you use?

Your home furnishings may currently be quite un-environmentally friendly in fact. For example, furnishings that are created using resources that are currently non-renewable, or which have a detrimental impact on the environment could be enlarging your carbon footprint.

If you’d like to re-furnish your home with ‘green’ furniture, consider these options:

1) Choose furniture made from sustainable materials
Only buying furniture that’s been created using sustainable materials can ensure that it’s ‘carbon neutral’. This means that the energy output and negative effects of the construction and creation of the furnishings are offset by the positive work that the company does, such as replanting trees that are cut down and turned into furniture.

Rattan is actually one of the most sustainable materials out there, so it would be a great idea to buy rattan furniture for your home. This is because rattan is a vine that grows between other trees, meaning it is actually helping to dissuade deforestation. These trees cannot be cut down, as they would diminish the rattan industry.

2) Go for companies that source materials locally
Deciding to only buy your furnishings from companies that make their own furniture with locally-sourced materials can ensure you can keep your carbon footprint as low as possible.

If a company uses sustainable materials, but has them flown in from another country, they certainly can’t be classed as eco-friendly - unless they’re doing something to offset this usage. A company that sources materials from the local area is one that you can trust hasn’t contributed to excessive fossil fuel consumption.

3) Ensure fabrics are made from organic materials
Organic materials are those that are created with recycled materials, be they from plant or animal matter. This can ensure limited resources aren’t wasted and, instead, existing products are re-used.

You can get all kinds of fabrics that are made from organic materials, from curtains to upholstery.

4) Choose modern products
Modern products will be built with technology that’s absolutely up to date, so you can ensure you’re investing in items that make the most of the latest advances in technology. This means you can do away with older and more outdated ideas, in order to really get the benefit of the many energy-saving techniques that are out these nowadays.

This can be especially apparent in the bathroom, where new technologies are constantly being rolled out. If you want to ensure your bathroom is one hundred per cent up to standard, choose from some of the many products that are available today.

So, if you want to ensure your home is thoroughly eco-friendly, all you need to do is choose the right providers, who can help you through their business methods. There’s nothing better than knowing how your home helps the environment.

This guest blog was written by Aurora Johnson, a writer of eco-friendly tips and tricks for the home and interior design advice on behalf of www.victoriaplumb.com.