Sofas are literally a big issue for landfills. Only 15 % of sofas enjoy a second life – 85% of households in the UK tipping their sofas into landfills every decade!
As furniture makers, we set about creating a way to make it easy to repair sofas. That was a dozen years ago. Since then MastaPlasta has prolonged the life of many thousands of sofas, but the overall picture has not improved. Fast fashion exists in the world of interiors. The sofas get cheaper and flimsier, while our consumer buttons are pressed like the keys of a piano in a Rachmaninoff symphony by a stream of delicious images of how are lounges should look this season.
The sad thing is that even a little hole makes a sofa look down at heel – with grubby yellow foam erupting from the crevices. The insides of sofas just ain’t pretty! So it’s easy to see why people take one look at the cost of reupholstering and decide to go splash out on a lovely new sofa from Ikea for a couple of hundred pounds. Not many people want to spend the same or more on getting it reupholstered, unless it is a designer piece.
That brings us to another problem – very few sofas have hand-me-down appeal. There are plenty of people out there who can’t believe that no one wants their old sofa, even for free. Personal taste, decor, space and fashion all play a part. There is also that kind of personal-space element, the same thing that means second-hand mattresses are not objects of desire. It all means that second-hand furniture stores are not go-to places for sofa-shoppers.
Recently there has been some progress within the industry – step up for a bow DFS. They are working with Clearabee.co.uk, who promise to dismantle old sofas, recycle the usable bits and generally strive to keep it out of landfills. This service cost about £100 – unfortunately enough to be a deterrent to many people.
So please don’t give in easily. A sofa with holes, rips, cigarette burns and worse can survive with some well-placed MastaPlasta patches and even look cool – it is not just an easy option, it’s a great option. And you know what, your sofa will feel all the more comfortable for it.