These continued uncertain times have caused people to reflect on their lives & re-evaluate what really matters to them. Part of that for some has been to look at their own impact on this world we live in.
More & more people are looking at how they live & what they surround themselves with. Auctioneer Paul Clark said, “In so-called developing countries the people reuse & up-cycle as much as possible – perhaps it is us who are the ones who need to develop, starting with a sustainable way forward with furnishings”. He added, “There was a myth that antique furnishings are expensive or suitable for older properties only but many are awakening to the fact that antiques & vintage items are not only affordable but often unique & a pleasure to have in your life – the time has come for us to stop being so wasteful & re-home what we already have”.
The desire to have clean, modern furniture in our homes continues to come at an increasing cost to our environment & is not sustainable. Research has proven that a modern chest of drawers has a carbon footprint in excess of 25% higher than a similar item that has been around for nearly 200 years. Over twenty million items of furniture items head for landfill every year despite the fact over 50% of this being reusable. Shipping alone contributes heavily to human carbon deposits with upto 4% of global emissions annually & rising.
Auctioneer Paul Clark said, “Personally, being in the business I am in, I see it as insanity that people pay thousands of hard earned pounds to buy new home furnishings from these large furnishing stores – it makes no sense in these or any other times to waste money in such a manner as these often poorly manufactured items, have obscene inflated mark ups on their true value of which would be exposed at auction”, adding, “A period piece of furniture, often made by a skilled home grown craftsman, was built to last & has already seen many of its ‘caretakers’ come & go – we owe it to ourselves to protect these artisan pieces for future generations & at the same time do our bit to help the planet”.
There is no excuse not to get involved. Access to antiques & vintage items is now easy. Once ‘government’ restrictions have been lifted, you can seek out local fairs where you can buy quickly & easily through dealers, visit local antiques shops or simply peruse many, many auctions via the-saleroom.com & seek out exactly what you want. If you need delivery, then there are many couriers who do long runs taking in many simultaneous drop offs/pick ups thus reducing their own carbon footprint.
