Hardware for furniture, upholstery, kitchen, coatings and furnishing systems.

Furnishing Idea is the portal dedicated to the furniture and furnishing industry, designed to bring together different professionals such as architects, designers, carpenters, furniture makers and manufacturers active in the furniture market who represent the reference point in terms of innovation and quality of the product offered. On the other hand, the portal aims to provide a valid information service focused on products, projects, events and fairs and everything that revolves around the world of components, semi-finished products and accessories for the furniture industry.

 

The portal is divided into different sections where you can explore the different products according to different categories, get in touch with manufacturers, download catalogues to keep up with industry trends and watch videos of interviews with the best professionals and manufacturers.

 

In the articles section you can find all the information about the most innovative product technologies, such as furniture materials, furniture accessories and systems, furniture machinery, furniture hardware, manufactured by manufacturers with a solid experience in the field. In the companies section there is an overview of the manufacturers registered on our portal, divided by product category, where you can contact us for any request. Our portal also has a special catalogues section to allow professionals and operators in the sector to view in a practical way all the catalogues relating to the various products (furniture hardware, upholstery materials, furniture paints, etc.). In addition, to allow easy consultation of the products, our portal has reserved a product section, organized by categories, where you can find out about the technical characteristics, materials and functionality of each product. The video section, on the other hand, presents numerous video interviews given by professionals and manufacturers that report news, insights and informative content on the best technologies in the sector.

 

In addition, to keep you constantly informed you can also consult our Journal section which contains all the Furnishing Idea magazines dedicated to the furniture and furnishing industry, such as the edition dedicated to Sicam or Interzum, two of the most important trade fairs in the sector. The magazines can be consulted from the portal or easily downloadable in pdf format.

 

Thanks to the trust placed in us by many manufacturers, our portal is now recognized both nationally and internationally. In fact, there are already many internationally recognized and established companies in the sector, including the AIPEF group (Italian Flexible Expanded Polyurethanes Companies) which promotes scientific information on the use of flexible polyurethane foam in the sectors in which it is used.

Sustainability: from FederlegnoArredo a decalogue to win the green challenge
Photographing the wood-furnishing sector and its supply chain in terms of sustainable behavior to guide the green transition process in the best possible way: this is how FederlegnoArredo tackles the challenge of sustainability at the center of the survey "Italian wood-furnishing in the ecological transition", carried out in collaboration with the Fondazione Symbola and presented during the Federation's annual assembly held on November 3.
The president of FederlegnoArredo, Claudio Feltrin, who has made sustainability one of the key points of his mandate, explained the association's line during the assembly: "We first wanted to look in the mirror, with a very pragmatic approach that helps us focus on our strengths and those on which we must work more, but in the full knowledge that there is no going back".

 

Charting the road map towards ecological transition


The data reveal a supply chain that, from the point of view of circular economy, is already among the most advanced in Europe; however, it is necessary to map the paths taken by companies, from the supply chain to production processes, from design to the end-of-life of products, in order to draw the road map of the sector towards ecological transition, transforming environmental challenges into opportunities for growth.  "If sustainability is already at the heart of a vertically integrated supply chain such as the wood-furniture industry, the ecological transition represents an epochal turning point for individual companies. Failure to seize the opportunity - Feltrin reiterated - would mean self-exclusion from the market and the trade federations have a central role in this sense, to accompany all players, especially smaller companies, towards a fully sustainable and circular model".
This model has been concretized in a Decalogue where the objectives to be pursued by the supply chain are outlined with the ambition of becoming an authoritative voice on the subject by providing guidance to operators in the sector.
"Courageously tackling the climate crisis is not only necessary," said the president of the Fondazione Symbola, Ermete Realacci, "but represents a great opportunity to make our economy and our society more people-friendly. FederlegnoArredo, with which the Fondazione Symbola has long collaborated on the themes of quality, design and circular economy, is an example of the winning mix of tradition and research, innovation and beauty that make our products unique".

 

Key points of the survey


The key points on which the survey "Italian wood-furniture in the ecological transition" was based are the attention to the life cycle of products with the aim of extending their duration and consequently their sustainability; the valorization of sustainable raw materials; the design approach extended to the production system and to eco-design; the recovery of materials and energy, with reference both to the actual production activity and to the products themselves and the extension of certifications intended as a push towards sustainability.
The survey was carried out on a representative sample of all components of the supply chain, from upstream to downstream, that is, from the raw material to the finished product. These are mainly SMEs with a strong export orientation and a long tradition, 60% of which use renewable energy sources, while 40% cover at least half of their needs with renewable energy. 67% of companies use materials or semi-finished products made from recycled materials, 81% use wood produced in a sustainable way, a percentage that rises to 89% if we consider wood companies. The world of wood-furniture is experimenting with new materials, collaborating more and more often with research institutes, and integrating the principles of environmental sustainability with the aesthetic-functional principles typical of design.
As far as the design phase is concerned, about 50% of companies consider the reduction of packaging, recyclability of products and energy efficiency to be fundamental, while a third considers, in the same phase, typical criteria of the circular economy such as reparability and reuse.  In terms of production processes, 64% of companies have implemented actions to make them more efficient, two thirds of which have led to a reduction in production waste, and more than half of the companies surveyed say they reuse internal or external waste. 44% have activated, in the last 3 years, mechanisms to reduce water consumption, including the reuse of process water. In terms of certifications, 60% of companies have ISO9001, followed by FSC, PEFC and ISO1401.  56% of companies also say they choose their suppliers using evaluation criteria that take environmental aspects into account, and 74% of companies source, at least in part, local raw materials, with a view to a short supply chain.
One of the strategic points for the implementation of these corporate policies is the training of dedicated professionals, and in terms of human capital, one company out of three claims to have a designated environmental manager.

In the photo, a moment of the FederlegnoArredo National Assembly (credits Francesco Rucci)

Sustainability and ecological transition: the themes at the center of the Salone del Mobile.Milano

Announced membership in the UN Global Compact to help build a "healthy" and responsible society
Category: Fairs
Publication date: 13/06/2022

Circular economy: EU proposals on the theme of circularity and eco-design

Sustainable Products Initiative published as part of the Circular Economy package
Category: Industry news
Publication date: 04/04/2022

FederlegnoArredo: new professionals for the digital and green transition

A European project indicates which are the most requested and how they should be formed
Category: Economy, News and Fairs
Publication date: 07/03/2022

The home package and all the facilities that will positively affect the sector

The 2020 budget package includes a number of important measures related to housing
Category: Economy and marketing
Publication date: 27/01/2020

Expanded polyurethane: Europur & Euro-Moulders 2019 annual conference in Lisbon

Circular economy and recycling are among the topics covered
Category: Flexible polyurethane foam
Publication date: 20/09/2019

More than 200 entrepreneurs and operators at the General Assembly of Federlegno Arredo

The wood-furniture supply chain confirms its proactive and innovative will
Category: Economy and marketing
Publication date: 21/06/2019

Salone del Mobile.Milano 2019: visitors and business are growing

Creativity and sustainability among the elements that characterize this edition
Category: Fairs
Publication date: 15/04/2019

At interzum 2019 the ideas and innovations for the furniture industry and interior design

The Surfaces & Wood Design Square presents the materials for tomorrow's furniture
Category: Fairs
Publication date: 18/03/2019
Company: Interzum - Koelnmesse GmbH

The 2018 preliminary results of Federlegno confirm the recovery of the furniture sector

The sector recorded a 2018 production up by 1.8% compared to 2017
Category: Economy and marketing
Publication date: 25/02/2019

Materials Village 2018: technologies dedicated to colour and sustainability

Two large installations designed by Studio Marco Piva and Yona Friedman
Category: Industry news
Publication date: 05/04/2018