cream-couch.jpgQ: We hate our living room furniture. We live in a loft so the couch and chair work really hard for us... needless to say they are old and tired looking, not to mention totally faded. We need to replace them and I would love to find an eco-friendly line, something that uses sustainably harvested wood, has low or no-VOC glues and finishes and organic fabric...

...I would also like something that is not coated in the fire retardant chemicals/stain resisters. As if that wasn't a long enough list they also need to be comfortable and family friendly. Budget friendly would certainly be a plus.

I can't find this. What I am finding is just not practical for us or completely cost-prohibitive. Am i missing something? Does this exist? Maybe I'm not typing in the correct search in Google? I did come across something called eCollection, but can't seem to find anyone who stocks it in the Chicago area (even though their site says differently. I called all those stores and no one had it).

I know i could always do Craigslist, but used couches are a little iffy in my book...

Sent in by Melissa

Editor: We know that it can be very difficult to find an eco sofa anywhere under $5000, but we do think the market is gradually getting better. Big chain stores like Crate and Barrel and its younger, hipper sibling CB2 now offer sofas made with a certified sustainable hardwood frame and soy or plant-based polyfoam seat cushions. We can't find any details on what kinds of finishes they use, or whether or not they still use flame-retardant chemicals — a less encouraging sign in our mind.

We'd recommend you check out Ekla Home, where the sofa construction includes natural rubber, 100% organic US grown and milled wool, 100% organic cotton barrier cloth, FSC poplar frame and legs, recycled steel springs, and Safecoat no VOC stain. Prices used to be reasonable (around $2000), so hopefully they still are! You may also want to check out Lofgren's, Eco-terric, or Greener Lifestyles. All of these places ship as well.

In doing some research, we also came across GreenSofas.com (pretty obvious name!), and they had quite a good selection at very reasonable prices.

Anyone else have suggestions?

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Photo via eCollection