"Office Furniture" Trendway Sustainabilty

All Trendway Standard products lines have been SCS certified for indoor air quality.Sustainable Forests - Trendway Portfolio hardwood products are sourced from managed forests certified by the Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Association.Product Design – Considerations for our ongoing product design efforts include forward integration of components, materials re-design, and product lifecycle.Clean Manufacturing – Trendway meets or exceeds Federal, state, and local environmental regulations. We use non-VOC adhesives and coatings, minimize packaging content, minimize scrap, and manage energy use.Certifications – Trendway facilities meet ISO 9001: 2000 standards.Sustainable Work Environments - TrendWall can be moved and reused with minimal waste and labor, providing low-impact space reconfiguration. Low-height Contrada and Choices configurations reduce material content and increase daylight views.

City of Newberg going Green

The City of Newberg had a vision when they came to Absolute Office of Oregon http://www.absoluteofficeoforegon.com/ to look at Baltix which is our line of Sustainable Furniture. It's was great to work with them and their support to become more sustainable. Our first project is with the City of Newberg Public Works Director, Howard Hamilton. Howard was great to work with on this project. He want to use sustainable product like, Forbo surface material, Bio Edge, and Sierra Pine Arreis for all the other material for his office. Arries is a sustainable medium density fiberboard manufactured from 100% post-industrial recycled wood residuals.

HON "Thinks Green"

One of the reasons Absolute Office of Oregon www.absoluteofficeoforegon.com is the newest HON Direct Dealer in Oregon:

In 1947 the corporation began making card files from pieces of scrap metal generated from its contract business. More than fifty years later, The HON Company practices one of the industry's strongest and most comprehensive programs to conserve raw materials and reduce waste. Today, environmental management is firmly embedded in all HON Company manufacturing processes. We define waste as anything that does not bring value to the customer, and life cycle considerations are a significant part of all product development efforts. We believe in the integration of safety into environmental philosophy and policies. To us, safety and environment go hand in hand — our overriding goal is to increase safety at the same time we reduce our impact on the environment. Individual responsibility is a fundamental here, based on the knowledge that we each can impact the environment and workplace safety every day. We strive always to move beyond what we are required to do — to focus on what we are capable of doing. At The HON Company, lean is green. The cellular manufacturing techniques we use across the company bring human scale to process requirements. To work in cells, processes have to be human-friendly. This serves to eliminate harmful solvents and reduce waste, enabling improvement of environmental performance and business performance at the same time — less waste equals less cost. Green is not trendy; it's a part of our culture. It has always been a part of The HON Company's way of doing business.

BALTIX-Sustainable Office Furniture

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Baltix Makes It Easy Being Green. Baltix offers four varieties of panels made from environmentally-friendly materials.
EcoSunflower panels are made from a unique bio-based material created from an abundant agricultural fiber, sunflower seed hulls. The material exhibits the natural elegance of traditional burled woods, making it an environmental and economic alternative to hard wood.
EcoWheat industrial panels make use of the abundant supply of agricultural fiber found on Midwest farms. Biofiber compares favorably to wood in weight, smoothness, and moisture resistence.
Newspaper boards respect the environment by using recycled paper products, a soy-based resin system, and color additives. The material has a unique and elegant appearance combined with the warmth and feel of an exotic hardwood. Finished with a special UV cured process, the panels are totally free of harmful V-O-Cs.
Perma-Poly plastics are made from 98% post-consumer and post-industrial recycled plastic. They are tough and durable, and require NO finish coats, so they will never affect your indoor air quality.
What Makes Our Biocomposites Good For The Environment?
Currently, once the processing for oil is complete, waste Sunflower Hulls are BURNED which creates excessive CO2 and other particulate matter in the atmosphere. Baltix salvages this resource from incineration.
Our raw materials are fully renewable in 6-12 months. Compared to 10 years for "certified forest products".
Not a single tree is cut down in the process of making these panels.
NO Formaldehyde - Most wood composites use a form of formaldehyde in its glues, resins, and laminations. Baltix uses NO FORMALDEHYDE in its products and processes.
The EPA has classified formaldehyde as a B1 probable HUMAN CARCINOGEN. MDF Formaldehyde content .75 ppm*
Our biocomposite panels can be ground down and reprocessed into brand new biocomposites.
Our aluminum can be re-used. In addition, all Baltix aluminum is readily recyclable and is valuable to recyclers.
The process of making our biocomposite panels is environmentally-friendly. The panels are made at a low energy facility, using a low water process. And there are no VOC's generated by the production.
Just a small percentage of waste hulls from one of sunflower farm produces enough raw material to run the EcoSunflower production at full annual capacity. (80,000 TONS ANNUALLY)

Alternative Materials: Wheat Board

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I found this great article today about Sustainable Furniture:

Wheat or straw board is making an important impact in the construction and interior design world. It is made out out of wheat straw, which is an annually renewable resource. It can be painted and stained like wood and can be used for interior applications such as cabinetry, furniture and decorative wall applications.
In addition to the advantages for homeowners, farmers reap big benefits--the new products give them a market for a once-wasted by-product. Today, nearly 60 million acres of wheat are grown, and most of the straw is plowed under or incinerated after the usable portions are removed. It is now being sold to make a fiberboard that is comparable to plywood and can be used in millwork, flooring and furniture. This cuts down on air pollution from burning. The resulting product is inexpensive and readily available wherever there is grain production.
To make the boards, wheat-straw fibers are bound with resin that creates both physical and chemical bonds. The resin uses no formaldehyde, so the finished boards emit no unpleasant fumes. Weighing about 20 percent less than standard particleboard, a board made from wheat straw has a superior ability to hold screws and nails and is more resistant to moisture penetration. The lighter weight also makes it easy to transport.

I'm excited to offer Baltix http://www.baltix.com/ on board to offer not only Wheat Board but Corn, Sunflower, Bamboo and other sustainable materials. www.absoluteofficeoforegon.com

How does sustainability effect you?

First of all, sustainability is for everyone - not just environmental leaders, but you, your family and friends, your business, your school, your church, even your dog. It doesn't mean you can't buy or use anything ever again. It means considering the impacts of your purchases and choices, and finding lower impact alternatives.
Sustainability combines common sense practices - such as simply turning off lights - with intangible concepts, such as values, business models, and quality of life. It's about long term stewardship in a large scale context, so that our children and great grandchildren can enjoy the same quality of life we have today. It is the essence of "think globally, act locally".
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