These polymer-based chairs can be used both indoors and outdoors. The Bubble Club Chair by Kartell (shown above), is made of non-toxic materials, and it has all its plastic parts printed with an identification mark to determine the correct recycling classification. It sells for $680. The Heller Mario Bellini MB1 Armchair (below) is constructed of one piece roto molded polymer, it sells for $450. It would also be good to see these chairs made with biopolymers.

Cardboard can be incorporated in modern design pieces — check out this impressive gallery of cardboard furniture. Bloxes (shown above) are the latest option in cardboard furniture. The corrugated cardboard puzzle pieces lock together to form sturdy shapes such as chairs, walls, and play forts.

The creator of Bloxes, Aza Raskin, explains what they are:

Essentially 3D cardboard legos that ship flat, and fold up in modular building blocks that are strong enough to stand on. While they aren’t tech per se, we use them for building tables, walls, cubicles, and desks. Both Google and Mozilla have expressed interest in using them in their offices. So, this may well be the new thing in terms of agile office-space deployment. Don’t like where a wall is? Just move it! Don’t like the way it looks? Just rebuild it! They are cheaper than cubicles, and much more fun.

The 6-sided, 9.5 inch-square shapes are designed with CAD software and made in Chicago. Bloxes sells each case of 20 brown or white squares for $60, enough to build a form 36 inches by 45 inches.

Link: Bloxes

The Tube+9 Lounge chair was designed with the user, environment, and budget in mind while maintaining a modern of the times feel and appearance. This chair achieves this by using materials that are either recycled or recyclable. The frame is constructed from a 3′x4′ sheet of plywood cut into 1/8″ strips, laminated and formed from one single formwork for both the back and legs to minimize material waste.

The lamination process allows the texture of the plywood section to be revealed in addition to creating a laminated appearance from all viewing angles. The seat is made from 9 rigid cardboard tubes found in many packaging and manufacturing plants that use cellophane wrap wrapping. All of the tubes are wraped in a recycled or recyclable fabric for comfortable sitting and capped with aluminum rings to finish the edges.

The breakdown of materials is:
3′x4′ plywood = 100% recyclable = $15
9 cardboard tubes = 100% recyclable = free
18 aluminum rings = 100% recyclable = $30
3yds. fabric = 100% recyclable = $45

100% recyclable/recycled = $90 = a lounge chair that meets the user’s, environment’s and budget’s needs.

Via: Yanko Design

This chest, by Ecodesignz, is made out of strips of bamboo, and finished with a clear, low-glass lacquer. The bamboo laminate is made with E-1 glue, which meets tough European standards for outgassing. Ecodesignz furniture is virtually formaldehyde-free.

Available for $245 from Ecodesignz.

This coffee table is made out of Kirei board, which is a material made out of the recycled stalks of the Sorghum plant. Usually these stalks are thrown away after the Sorghum cereal is harvested, but in this case, they are reclaimed, and then bonded into a sheet using formaldehyde-free adhesives.

It creates a natural material looks a lot like rows of plant cells.

The table is designed by Iannone : Sanderson, is available from 2Modern for $1100.

Found via productdose.

This modern rocking chair is built of out of sustainable, non-toxic mateirals (Baltic birch veneer and non-toxic painted wood). It’s part of the new “Built-By-Me” collection from OFFI, and it’s designed by Jennifer Carpenter. Available from Velocity for $109.

Wouldn’t it be great to sit in a chair and breath easily, knowing you are not inhaling chemicals like
“perfluorooctane sulfonate”. Sustain Lane has a short guide to help you to know what to look for when shopping for furniture. Here’s a summary: avoid PVC, other plastics, high-emitting particleboard, polyurethane foam and synthethic fibers for upholstery, toxic finishes and glues.

The chair seen here is a Prasada Club Chair from EL Furniture. You can read about how it is constructed with non-toxic materials here.

This low-profile chair is handwoven by Indonesian artisans out of renewable, fast-growing seagrass and includes a tufted cushion with an unbleached cotton blend cover. The frame is made of locally harvested Mango Wood with a clea, water-based lacquer finish. Available for $199 from Hanson Products

This “donut chair” is an example of modern wicker design. The dark two tone color comes for the natural color of the rattan. It has a washable cotton cushion.

Rattan furniture is durable, smooth to the touch and made from plants that grow quickly and replenish easily.

Available from Surroundings for $295 each.

They also have this rattan Tika Armchair:

Even retail stores sometimes offer efficient bent plywood furniture, like Hold Everything which sells this “Bent Ply” chair. You may need to go to their site and zoom in to get a good look at the wood grain.

Available in four different stains for $88 (including shipping) from Hold Everything.

This attractive “Kinetic Santa Catarina” chair (below) is available from HomeClick for $98.