The rise of ethical and sustainable home decor: why it's important and how to find it

As we become more aware of the environmental impact of our actions, many of us are looking for ways to live more ethically and sustainably. One area where this is becoming increasingly important to choose sustainable methods is in the home decor we choose.

There are many reasons why ethical and sustainable home goods is important. Firstly, the furniture and homewares we choose have a direct impact on the environment. Fair trade, or ethical production labor, and supply chain are often overlooked, but the manufacturing process of many conventional products uses harmful chemicals and materials that can damage the workers, environment, or both during production.

Additionally, the way our furniture and homewares are produced can often be unethical with poor working conditions and low wages for the workers involved. By choosing ethical and sustainable home decor, and only working with brands that offer fair wages and produce by fair trade practices, we can be sure that the people who have made our products have been treated fairly and that the environment has not been harmed in the process.

So how can you make sure you're choosing ethical and sustainable home decor? Firstly, do your research and only buy from brands that are fair trade, use sustainable practices, supports fair wage manufacturing and eco-friendly. Make sure to read product descriptions carefully to check for sustainable materials and ethical production methods. Bonus points for companies not keeping inventory that could end up in a land fill, if not purchased. The global economy doesn’t need anymore mass-produced poorly made things, they need quality, long lasting items. Made on demand is the new buzz— inventory is kept in raw materials, and then when you order it’s created, especially for you.

Finally, remember that you don't need to sacrifice style or quality when choosing the best ethical decor and eco friendly home decor. There are now many beautiful and well-made products available from the global marketplace that fit this criteria, so you can shop guilt-free!

Ethical home decor is important for a variety of reasons. First, it is important to support the global community move to environmentally friendly and socially responsible. Secondly, sustainable home decor can help reduce your carbon footprint. 

Even when made far away, quite a few companies are now opting for ‘slow-living’ delivery options, as well. Meaning it won’t show up overnight like a certain prime membership thing, but would pause for enough other wares delivering to your local area. 

Many good trade partners are now using reduced carbon emissions options available, making less trips and using less jet fuel, even other transportation methods that are gaining popularity again, like trains. True, a good amount of patience is needed to buy from sustainable brands, but as you embrace the path away from throw-away culture to curating a home for a lifetime, curating ethical items you’ll be able to pass along, it really is worth the wait. 

Finally, eco friendly home decor is often more durable and longer-lasting than conventional home decor, plus it’s more handcrafted, fair trade happy working environments means the volume produced is lower, but more unique and well made. It will save you money in the long run.

The environmental impact of conventional home decor can be significant, in fact, the world fair trade organization hopes that by 2030 to significantly impact decent work and economic growth around the world. The production of conventional home decor often involves the use of harmful chemicals and toxic materials, which can pollute the air and water. Moreover, the manufacturing of conventional home decor often requires large amounts of energy, which can lead to greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, many conventional home decor products are made from unsustainable materials, such as plastic, which can take hundreds of years to decompose. Finally, the disposal of conventional home decor can be problematic, as it often ends up in landfills where it takes up valuable space and emits methane gas, which is a powerful greenhouse gas.

The unethical production methods often used in the furniture industry include child labor, forced labor, and unsafe working conditions. Child labor is common in the furniture industry, as children as young as five years old are often used to make furniture. Moreover, forced labor is also common in the furniture industry, as workers are often required to work long hours for little pay. In addition, unsafe working conditions are also common in the furniture industry, as workers are often exposed to harmful chemicals and materials. Finally, the furniture industry also often uses unsustainable materials, such as rainforest wood, which can lead to deforestation. And a little closer to home— Toxic, plastic based inks used in mass-produced posters and wallpapers overtime emit fumes in your home, causing indoor air pollution. It’s not as bad as scheel’s green was, but overtime and with multiple items, those chemicals add up. Sustainable solutions will help you keep your home and family safe.

Fair trade is a corner stone of ethical home decor brands, and provides an alternative to conventional trade that focuses on ensuring that artisan partners receive fair wages, safe working conditions, and other benefits. Fair trade home decor also typically focuses on ensuring that businesses are environmentally responsible. In contrast, conventional trade often results in unfair wages, unsafe working conditions, environmental destruction, and other problems.

When looking for ethical and eco friendly home decor, you can find sustainable home decor brands by considering the following factors:

-The materials used are natural and recycled materials: Make sure to choose products made from sustainable materials, such as bamboo, wool, organic cotton, ethical silk, porcelain, ceramic, or recycled materials. One item that’s a true mixed bag is polyester. It’s made of oil, so it’s pretty terrible for the environment—but, it helps fabrics and wallpaper materials last for a truly long time. It gives clothing and home items enough stretch and won’t shrink, making their use time much longer. Paper wallpaper starts to turn and fade in just a few years, making the whole expensive process to replace it just as bad. So our advice is it’s pretty hard to avoid always, but try to minimize your consumption of it. Rayon is another item that to be wary of, it is ‘greenwashed’ often, because it’s made from plants—but it’s production methods lead to deforestation and massive chemical run off. Our personal choice is polyester over rayon.

-The production process: Make sure to choose products that are produced in an environmentally responsible manner, such as products that are certified by Fair Trade, the Forest Stewardship Council, or the Marine Stewardship Council.

-The brand: Make sure to choose products from companies that have a commitment to sustainability, such as Ramble & Roam, which uses recycled materials in its products and offsets carbon footprint.

You don't need to sacrifice style or quality when choosing ethical and fair trade home decor. There are many companies that offer high-quality, natural materials and support ethical and sustainable conduct. One such company is Ramble & Roam, which offers a wide range of sustainable and ethical home decor products.

Ethical home decor brands like ours strive to provide a curated marketplace of exceptional quality decor that is not only an elegant range, but also made ethically and responsibly. We are committed to using sustainable materials and practices whenever possible, and we work hard to support artisan cooperatives and small businesses in local and international markets. Our goal is to offer our customers a wide variety of goods from craftsmen and artists that set their own wages and use traditional crafts updated for ecological footprint. From wall art to sustainable bedding, or our good trade partners using locally sourced materials that make dishes or rugs, these small shops in developing countries and international materials help us keep the promise of sustainable sourcing, all while creating modern goods with centuries old cultural heritage and putting money into community development.

Inspired by ten thousand villages, probably the best ethical home decor brand, but not finding our aesthetic, we set out to create a bit minimalist, a bit maximalist, younger brand inspired by our love of exploration and journey. Our company finds artisan communities and fair trade partners to create products for a sustainable home. We are committed to fair trade, and are working with these artisans around the world to help them build meaningful income opportunities that are good for the environment, as well as a better future for themselves and their families.

Our goal is to create products that are not only beautiful and unique, but also have a positive impact on the world around us. From a zero waste business model, building sustainable relationships, and ensuring our vendors are paying fair wages and sustainably sourced items, we are also applying to the fair trade federation in hopes to be certified. We started because we love wall decor, an adventurous lifestyle or roaming, but our goal is to make the world a better place. We hope that our curated online marketplace and exclusive designs and prints delight you every day that you aren’t also wandering about, exploring new cultures, and it will inspire people to live more sustainably and to appreciate the craftsmanship of these artisans, and know your money will support artisan communities. Thank you for supporting our company and our mission!