Three Lounge Seating Manufacturers Keeping Pace with High BIFMA Standards

Are you sitting down? Take a moment to appreciate the many complex environmental stories lying beneath (and woven into) that sofa or chair.

Lounge seating typically contains wood or metal framing, steel coils, adhesives, treated upholstery, and various foam padding and cushioning materials that can come from all over the globe. As designers have taken an interest in seeing better health and environmental vetting of these complex products, the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) launched in 2008 the multi-attribute e3 Furniture Sustainability Standard and, based on that, the “level” third-party certification program.