Eco-friendly furniture on display

HIGH POINT -- The 2007 Spring Furniture Market that kicked off Monday is in full swing. While the show is primarily for dealers and those in the furniture industry only, you don't have to wait until the trends hit area stores to get a peek.

Al Gore wasn't on hand, but the 2007 Furniture Market went green.

"Our goal is to follow through with the mission statement of being sustainable, being eco-friendly," said Dallas dealer Chris Bruning, the vice president of Groovystuff Furniture Accessories.

From hybrid cars which burn cleaner fuel to green schools that conserve water, environmentally-friendly goods are part of a trend sweeping the United States.

The 2007 Spring Furniture Market kicked off Monday and is now in full swing. This year the furniture is going green -- but in a good way as eco-friendly furniture hits High Point.

"The planet has a fever. If your baby has a fever you go to the doctor," former Vice President Al Gore said when he went before Congress. He is headlining the efforts that address growing concerns about the environment.

Now it seems the furniture industry is catching up, and Bruning says it's about time.

"They've been on it for years. This is just now something that I think we can now complete the home. You've got the outside home that's green. Let's fill it on the inside with the green as well," Bruning said.

For the past 10 years, Bruning and his partner have been designing rediscovered or sustainable furniture, but only within the past year or so did it start to catch on with buyers.

Rediscovered furniture is made from wood that may have come from existing pieces or old structures that's been reconditioned and then reshaped for a new use.

"They have mango, our fruit mango that they grow in plantations, and what they'll do is when they prune that mango tree, you'll get some nice limbs out of it, and you can turn that into vases and pots and all kinds of different wood handicrafts," Bruning explained. "That's fabulous and you're still harvesting and getting fruit from the plantation."

And if you're worried about looks...

"It's going to look good and it's going to be ergo dynamic. That's a great word and nice and comfortable like the chair I'm sitting in. It's just got nice curves to it; it's got nice swivel action. It's going to have all the elements we have now only you're going to have a little mojo with it to take home and know that you're doing a good thing," Bruning added.

Groovystuff isn't the only company on the market that sells green, or environmentally-friendly furniture. Bruning says many stores do sell it, but it's not widely advertised.

Source: News14 Carolina

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