What does it mean for furniture to be sustainable? Beyond materials and manufacturing, sustainable furniture embodies a broader way of thinking, one that considers the entire lifespan of an object, from conception to eventual regeneration. The most eco-friendly furniture pieces do more than reduce waste; they reimagine how and why we live with objects.
Our lives are constantly changing, and our spaces should reflect that. Recyclable and reconfigurable furniture from molo is designed to evolve alongside you, remaining relevant over time. By selecting versatile, non-toxic pieces made from recyclable materials, we ensure that the spaces we occupy are not only safe, but shape our worlds more thoughtfully.
Eco-friendly furniture invites us to live with greater awareness. Finding pieces that high-quality materials, less material and are designed for disassembly creates a healthier relationship between consumers and objects. Unlike mass-produced pieces and replicas that cut corners to meet rapid trends, molo’s recyclable and reconfigurable furniture is built for renewal and longevity.
One of the easiest ways to create recyclable furniture is to focus on developing single-material objects. The fewer materials used, the simpler the process of maintenance, repair and recycling becomes. From the pieces in our float collection to our collapsible furniture, this edited approach is not only more environmentally responsible but also allows us to achieve sculpturally harmonious objects. What emerges is a beautiful eco-friendly design born from less.
less is more
At the heart of sustainability is the question of what is really needed. Material efficiency is one of the quiet strengths of our furniture, resulting in a greater material economy. Softwall demonstrates this perfectly. When fully expanded, the honeycomb structure of softwall consists of 99% air and only 1% material. That modest one percent is doing all the work of the design.
By using so little, each piece invites openness and adaptability. The use of minimal material reduces environmental impact at every stage: fewer resources to produce, lower energy to transport, and a smaller footprint once in use. In the context of sustainable design, efficiency is not only about conservation, it’s about creating more with less.
Not only do our pieces expand efficiently, they contract in order to minimize their physical footprint in your life. When no longer needed, pieces like softwall, softseating, and cantilever table are designed to shrink to the thickness of a book. Adapting to evolving needs in your life, these pieces can be redeployed into any shape that suits a particular occasion and are there when needed, tucked away when not, inviting more flexibility in any given space. Furniture that can evolve with you is inevitably more sustainable.
eco-friendly materials
For the soft collection, we chose to use fully recyclable paper and non-woven polyethylene textile. The brown and blue papers are made from wood harvested from Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC® C158591) responsible sources, and are featured on the FSC® Canada website. These materials are paired only with non-toxic fire retardants, adhesives and inks that don’t compromise on environmental integrity.
To pair with the cantilever table base and folding paper stool, we fabricate tabletops with PaperStone®. This wonderfully durable and unique material is a FSC® Certified, non-brittle panel pressed from natural resin and post-consumer recycled paper and cardboard. Warm to the touch and highly water-resistant, these tabletops are designed with longevity in mind, no matter how and where you use them.
Furnishing a space with environmentally-friendly materials is not only a conscious choice for the planet, but a gesture toward your own well-being. Surrounding yourself with non-toxic, responsibly sourced, naturally tactile materials creates an atmosphere that supports focus, calm and creativity while being safer for the members of your family, your colleagues and your community.
furniture that evolves
With molo pieces, you can transform your space again and again. Adapting with the cycles and seasons of your life, our flexible designs invite you to make a design choice without worrying about how life will change.
For instance, paper softwall can create separate spaces in a shared environment, define a quiet play area for young children, or become a privacy panel when things need to be hidden. Pieces like cantilever table and softseating open up your guest list capacity both indoors and outdoors, create impromptu work stations, and become sculptural landscapes for events and installations. Each of these pieces invite you to reimagine your environment and exceed the limits of your imagination, without worrying about waste or permanence.
Sustainable furniture is not only about how it’s made, but how it lives with you. Each molo piece is an expression of eco-friendly design that supports the changing patterns of daily life. When your needs shift, the same objects can take on new forms and new purposes. This adaptability keeps materials in use longer, reducing the need for replacements or unnecessary additions.
When we select pieces made from responsibly sourced, non-toxic, and recyclable materials, we’re shaping more than our environment; we’re shaping our values. True sustainability lives in navigating the balance between how something is made, what it’s made from, and why it’s needed.
Recyclable and reconfigurable furniture is thoughtfully designed to meet every point of sustainability. It considers not just form and function, but also the soul of our spaces. Choosing objects mindfully, whether we’re outfitting an office, an apartment, or a public space, results in a world that is more carefully constructed. Sustainability begins with what we decide to invest in, and how each item we choose can live alongside us in more purposeful, creative ways.
At molo, we believe that sustainable furniture does more than create beautiful environments; they liberate us to reimagine how we live and work in them. These eco-friendly designs liberate us to embrace change with grace and fluidity. Flexible, sustainable pieces take on a multi-dimensional quality that mirrors the seasons of your life. In this way, sustainability becomes not just an environmental choice, but a creative one that allows you to design spaces that are as multi-faceted as you are.
