I come from a small village in the middle of Finland - I grew up surrounded by forests, lakes and - everything made of wood. When I was working in the advertising industry at the turn of the millennium and was looking for a producer to furnish public spaces, I was fascinated by the small but incredibly talented craftsmanship of wooden furniture. My dream was to turn this ancient craftsmanship and Nordic wood into a design that would reach all people and bring the heritage of Finnish and Estonian wood to the world.

With a couple of my friends, I started tinkering with various wooden objects, we tried doors, stairs, windows... Our first products for sale were wooden cutting boards and terrace modules. Thin strips were left when cutting the wood. We used to burn the leftovers for heating, but pretty soon we started making wooden chairs from those leftover slats. This is how the EcoChair was born. The name EcoChair was self-explanatory – the leftovers turned into something useful. The EcoChair was the cornerstone of our production from the beginning – and still is.

After years of trial and error, setbacks and luck, EcoFurn® was founded in 2009. Today we have over 20 different wood products in different wood types and colors. Along with our own EcoFurn® products, we produce our customers' own models. We have grown from a small carpentry shop to an international company that employs 50 people in Finland and Estonia. Our products are now available in more than 40 countries around the world.

 

Materials

 

EcoFurn® products are made from solid wood grown in the North. We do not use raw materials from sensitive rainforests at all. We only buy wood from managed forests and sources that either have a PEFC or FSC certificate or that can determine the exact location of the harvesting site of the wood material supplied to us. In addition to wood, we use hemp rope and metal fastening parts for some products. The products are primarily delivered in flat packs in order to minimize the need for packaging material and the space required for transportation. The packaging material we use is always recyclable, unless there are special circumstances (e.g. freight rules and regulations) that prevent their use.

 

Design

 

In addition to our own product development, we use external professional designers. The starting point of our design is sustainable development, product durability and repairability, and recyclability. If our new product idea didn't meet these standards, we wouldn't go into production. We are inspired by Finland's fresh nature - thousands of lakes, forests and unique tranquility. All this creates a magical atmosphere for new ideas. The changing seasons also provide a natural testing environment for our products.

 

Production

 

This operating model of sustainable development and respect for nature has been the core of our production from the beginning. Our products are 100 percent recyclable, and no waste is left in nature. Over the years, we have invested in expanding our factory and in production equipment. With high-level process technologies and operating environments, we also have production facilities that are as environmentally friendly as possible.

We use all wood in our factory. Our production process uses all wood efficiently: we turn sawing residues into briquettes, even sawdust pellets, both of which can be used for heating.

We strongly believe that we will return from plastic to wood. Our mission is to make wooden products so well that consumers prefer them also because of their other properties, not only ecology. Climate-conscious choices can often also be practical. We encourage consumers to prefer durability and repairability of products.

 

Our goal

 

Climate change, plastic pollution, chemical pollution of the environment and the sufficiency and purity of food are the biggest environmental challenges of our time. We do not want to add to these problems with our actions. We want to be part of the solution.

 

Our way of thinking

• Attractive
• Commercial
• Durable
• Partnership
• Fixable
• Communicative
• Recyclable
• International
• Transportable
• Ever-improving

More nature, less plastic

Plastic is durable, cheap and versatile - but DEADLY. Fossil fuels as a raw material for plastic products play a major role in increasing climate change. Plastic is hiding everywhere – in cosmetics, textiles, building materials and even our food. To replace plastic with the most durable materials, we need political and legislative guidance, but we can start it already now with the simple everyday choices of companies and individuals. It's our choice, yours and mine!