Each year, Americans throw out more than 12 million tons of furniture and furnishings, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. This is one of the reasons we decided to "cancel" Black Friday and Cyber Monday last year.

As a company, we are passionate about limiting our environmental footprint and encourage mindful shopping. Since our main raw material is wood, we decided to give back to the forest instead of offer Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals. Last year, we donated 978 trees, equivalent to a football field planted locally in Oregon and California.

 

We partner with One Tree Planted

Instead of reducing prices for a weekend, we are making a longer commitment spanning over the whole month of November. We pledge to plant one tree for every product we sell in November. 

We decided to continue to work with the same partner we collaborated with last year, One Tree Planted. This is a fantastic non-profit organization focused on global reforestation across 43 countries in North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.

The tumultuous weather has deeply affected the local forest with wildfires across the U.S lately. One of the best ways to create a healthy environment after a fire is by planting a tree. The west coast's rich forest includes some of the world's most interesting and valuable tree species like pine, spruce, western red cedar, giant sequoia, and oak. The experts at One Tree Planted determine the most appropriate tree species to plant depending on the time of year and local ecosystem needs.

One Tree Planted projects restore forests in the wake of major wildfires like those in Paradise, California; repair damage caused by industry and resource extraction. Through their partnerships with the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. State Forest, and Conservation District, One Tree Planted is able to plant trees in many regions across the United States, including California, Florida, and Oregon.

Source: One Tree Planted

To donate more to this cause and learn more, please visit One Tree Planted's website.

 

How we limit our environmental footprint

We believe that the less waste we create, the more beautiful product. Norse stays true to Scandinavian design and ethics and was founded on a few core values, including that our products needed to be durable and sustainable.

Instead of throwing out old IKEA furniture, you can replace the drawer fronts of an old Malm dresser, or add new legs or knobs, to spruce it up. If you don't have IKEA furniture already, you can buy the Besta or Sektion frame from IKEA without doors and add ours for a zero-waste custom piece. Our Buying Guide outlines all compatible IKEA frames.

Luxe green Amelia doors on Sektion wall frames from IKEA, with Agnes pulls in chrome.

Norse also has a local focus. Our wood collection consists of doors and panels made of natural walnut and white oak. They grow locally and are known for their durability and are made to last. All our products are made in America by local artisans putting meticulous care into every step of the process. Local production isn't only positive for the environment; it also creates job opportunities across the U.S.

We can always do more, and we welcome any thoughts or suggestions you have to work with the world's limited resources in a better way.

 

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