13 Sustainable Tables Made of Eco-Friendly Materials

Designing a sustainable home with eco-friendly habits requires more than renewable energy and water conservation. It requires a shift in our consumer habits, predominantly with expensive items like furniture that should last a lifetime. If you require a new table or are in the market for a new one, these sustainable tables are green in myriad fashions. What are the criteria?

What Makes a Sustainable Table?

Eco-friendly furniture is defined by several facets, and a sustainable table may have one, some, or all of these qualities. This determines exactly how environmentally conscious it is, but it should not discount companies’ efforts to perfect one eco-friendly element before adding others. 

The mission should always be to support companies doing planetary good while holding them accountable for continuously improving. These are a few aspects of eco-conscious furniture:

• Just labor and working conditions
• Ethical raw material sourcing
• Sustainable compliance adherence
• Circular economic practices
• Reasonable life cycle assessment 
• Sustainable oversight and management in production
• Clever resource use during manufacturing
• Recyclability, compostability, or other clean disposal potential

The details behind the materials are particularly interesting. For example, wood is durable and renewable. One company may have displaced species and destroyed habitats to plant fast-growing pine unethically harvested from abused laborers.

Another may have Forest Stewardship Council backing and only use wood that nourishes soil while letting the environment recuperate sufficiently before growing again. Therefore, it’s easy to see why statements like “wood is renewable and eco-friendly” may only be partially true.

A sustainable table prioritizes environmental wellness, lifelong durability, and responsible circularity for reuse. What are some companies embracing these ideals?

1. Sabai

Materials: Recycled and salvaged materials like wood and steel

Sabai not only creates sustainable tables but also has eco-friendly initiatives driving its goals. They offer a secondhand and trade-in option, repair service, and minimize emissions by producing locally in conditions they control with the planet in mind.

2. Inside Weather

Materials: Plywood, wood, and steel

This is one of the most affordable options on the list, even though they are FSC-certified. They produce as needed to prevent overstocking and overconsumption. The company publicizes a focus on eco-friendly shipping in recycled and upcycled cardboard with carbon negativity to boot. Foam is biodegradable, too. They also partner with the National Forest Foundation to help reforestation.

3. Burrow

Materials: Wood and steel

Spun steel provides the legs of these chic ash wood tables. They sustainably manage the forests in Poland, where they gather materials. They openly oppose “fast furniture” by creating modular options that are expandable and resilient. 

4. From the Source

Materials: Iron, steel, and wood, with some salvaged materials

From the Source uses teak, tali, weru, mindi, and mango wood. Their definitive shapes make them the tables on this list with the most personality. Many are from salvaged trees, and many are organic-certified.

5. Kaiyo

Materials: Wood

They sell secondhand pieces to give tables a second chance with FSC, fairtrade, and Greengard certifications, meaning there are low to no chemical emissions. They aim to restore, resell, and rehome as many tables and furniture as possible. Alongside planting trees, they contribute to a New York-specific initiative to have a 30% tree canopy by 2035.

6. Masaya & Co

Materials: Wood, glass, and steel

Masaya makes robust and gorgeous tables with a focus on reforestation efforts. They acknowledge how their sector depletes natural resources and look to rewrite the practices of furniture professionals. They take previously slashed land and replant native hardwood species to heal the soil and provide opportunities for local economies — all while making tables.

7. Medley

Materials: Wood

Medley creates minimalist wooden tables focusing on nontoxic, FSC eco-certified materials. They base tables in hardwood that shouldn’t crack or warp in your lifetime and incorporate plywood for other applications that contain low volatile organic compounds. They also partner with the National Forest Foundation to plant trees.

8. Emeco

Materials: Recycled materials like aluminum and wood

Emeco produces sleek and versatile tables from carbon-neutral recyclable materials. They have respectable transparency — acknowledging their positive impact while stating the carbon footprint in detail.

9. Maiden Home

Materials: Wood

This woman-owned, made-to-order operation makes sustainable tables with character and signature proportions. They meet the criteria of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative with a luxury you know will last the rest of your life.

10. Savvy Rest

Materials: Wood

These modern, angular wooden tables source sustainable wood from Appalachia. Savvy Rest has many environmental credentials, including Green America Gold, B Corp, and more. Their table finishings are unique, providing zero-VOC options, unfinished choices, or hand-rubbed finishes.

11. The Citizenry

Materials: Wood, rattan, palm, and steel

The Citizenry has artisanally crafted sustainable tables with FSC and World Fair Trade Organization backing. It also pays two times more than the minimum Fair Trade requirement. They have put over $40 million back into communities to help working conditions. Their tables promise to produce no waste, engage with cruelty-free standards, and have few carbon emissions to boot.

12. Avocado

Materials: Wood, with some reclaimed materials

Avocado is a diverse business with beautiful reclaimed and upcycled products. They are part of some of the most famous environmental projects, including 1% for the Planet where they put this amount back to green nonprofits. They are also an approved B Corporation and certify their tables with the GreenGuard Gold label, which meets health and emissions criteria.

13. VivaTerra

Materials: Reclaimed and recycled materials like wood and steel

The tables from VivaTerra are recycled, handmade, all-natural, harvested responsibly, and made in the U.S. They also cover a comprehensive list of environmental issues, promising they pay workers fair wages and promote sustainable development for surrounding communities. 

Bonus — Choose Secondhand

The most sustainable option is giving something preloved and destined for the trash a new life. Check out any of these online outlets for secondhand tables or look locally:

• Facebook Marketplace
• Craigslist
• Etsy
• AptDeco
• OfferUp
• Chairish

Sustainable Tables for Durable, Eco-Friendly Surfaces

These companies take on sustainability from multiple perspectives. Their efforts will inevitably create a new standard and expectation for furniture makers. Their presence reminds consumers there are options out there — costs pending — instead of defaulting to unethical furniture.