Making environmentally-aware lifestyle and green purchasing choices is nowadays very important in our daily lives. This is more so when faced with present growing challenges, such as biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, climate change and environmental pollution.

Protecting the environment also requires the regulation of the trade in species, especially when endangered, in order to safeguard their long-term survival in the wild. In this regard, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) sets out legal restrictions that directly affect the antique furniture sector, in terms of antique items that contain elements of endangered species. read more.....

Another important environmental legislation affecting the sale and buying of antique chairs is the ivory ban. Ivory may sometimes be found as an inlay in chairs. The Ivory Act 2018 (came into effect in June 2022) bans the sale of any form of ivory, unless the ivory falls within certain exemption categories. An exemption must be applied in order to deal in items containing ivory (including buying and selling). read more.....

Restoring and reusing antique chairs is one such greener consumer choice that has an overall positive effect on the environment. This is because it avoids additional use of scarce natural resources (such as overexploited timber species), minimises potentially polluting manufacturing processes, reduces consumer wastage (and prevents landfill discard), and finally increases sustainable use.

Indeed, buying antique and vintage chairs, as opposed to new ones, essentially means buying something that although old, has stood the test of time via countless cycles of re-use. All the items of antique seating furniture offered for sale by The Sitting Place® are of very high quality and have been made by skilled cabinet makers in the 1800s and early 1900s using traditional methods. The chairs are then lovingly restored and traditionally re-upholstered by The Sitting Place® to continue this long product cycle of reuse for years to come.

The re-upholstery of chairs by The Sitting Place® is done using traditional techniques as well as natural and sustainable materials and fillings, such as coir fibre from coconut husk, 100% linen scrim, 100% cotton unbleached calico, jute hessian, and inherently flame retardant natural wool guard barrier cloth (thereby avoiding the use of harmful chemicals; no foam is used).

The top fabrics that cover the chairs are also carefully sourced from UK fabric design houses and suppliers, who in turn have their own sustainability goals. Sourcing in the UK is also good for the carbon footprint. The Sitting Place® is committed to making sustainable material choices, wherever possible. After many years of loving use of one our chairs, all that may be required would simply be to recover the chair with new fabric, without the upholstery needing replacement.

Many of the items offered for sale by The Sitting Place® also have a nature-inspired theme in terms of inlay motifs, carvings and the fabric patterns used. Our chairs would appeal to buyers, who are nature lovers and antique collectors.