Opportunities of Sustainable Development of the Industry of Upholstered Furniture in Romania. A Case Study

Emilia Ciupan, Cornel Ciupan, Emilia-Maria Câmpean, Lucia Stelea, Cecilia-Elena Policsek, Florin Lungu and Daniela-Corina Jucan
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Emilia Ciupan: Department of Management and Economic Engineering, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, B-dul Muncii 103-105, Cluj-Napoca 400641, Romania
Cornel Ciupan: Department of Design Engineering and Robotics, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, B-dul Muncii 103-105, Cluj-Napoca 400641, Romania
Emilia-Maria Câmpean: Department of Design Engineering and Robotics, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, B-dul Muncii 103-105, Cluj-Napoca 400641, Romania
Lucia Stelea: “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iaşi, Iași 700050, Romania
Cecilia-Elena Policsek: Department of Modern Languages and Communication, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, B-dul Muncii 103-105, Cluj-Napoca 400641, Romania
Florin Lungu: Department of Management and Economic Engineering, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, B-dul Muncii 103-105, Cluj-Napoca 400641, Romania
Daniela-Corina Jucan: Department of Management and Economic Engineering, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, B-dul Muncii 103-105, Cluj-Napoca 400641, Romania

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: Wood is used as a raw material in various industries, including the production of furniture, which puts pressure on the exploitation of the forests and the continuous reduction of their surfaces, with undesirable effects on the environment. The paper provides a way of sustainably manufacturing furniture by replacing wood with composite materials based on natural fibers obtained from fast-growing renewable crops (hemp, willow, flax, etc.) and at the same time a method of assessing the forest areas which can be saved from cutting. The method’s algorithm is based on the estimation of forest area that ensures the annual consumption of wood for the production of furniture, both in the conventional production of furniture and in the unconventional one, where part of the products is made of composites. The agricultural areas required to be cultivated with technical plants to provide the natural fibers necessary for the wood replacement composite were also determined. The case study, based on the data of an upholstered furniture company, shows that replacing only part of the wood for the production of furniture can save about 3000 hectares of beech forests per year and the necessary plant fibers can be obtained from a surface area about 10 to 100 times smaller.

Keywords: sustainable development; saving forest; wood replacement; composite; natural fibers; thermoforming (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:9:p:3356-:d:170907

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