The article highlights the concept of fast furniture, emphasizing its environmental and health concerns due to low quality and toxic chemicals. It advocates for choosing secondhand furniture to mitigate waste, noting that in Australia, a significant portion of furniture ends up in landfills. Moreover, opting for natural materials can enhance health, avoiding harmful synthetic products that release microplastics. By sharing a personal experience of decorating with secondhand items, the author stresses the importance of sustainable choices in creating a comfortable home while protecting the environment.
After buying and lightly renovating my old house in Tarntanya (Adelaide) in 2021, I turned to online marketplaces and secondhand stores to deck it all out.
Buying secondhand keeps perfectly good items in circulation and out of landfill, while sidestepping the carbon emissions, raw materials and chemical treatments often involved in manufacturing new pieces.
A recent study found Australians are eating and inhaling significant numbers of microplastics at home, shed from plastic and synthetic-based floors, furnishings and homewares.
Opting for natural fibres can often be more expensive, so I again turned to secondhand options.
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