VFH & Our Planet

Virginias Furniture Hire & OUR PLANET

Specialising in the hire of sustainable, vintage and recycled furniture and decor, our environmental values go hand in hand with who we are.

Inspired not by brand new shiny perfection, but instead with care and consideration for our planet; reinventing and reusing, is the very foundation on
which our furniture hire business stands.

REUSE & RECYLE

Over 75% of the products in our hire collection, are either vintage/ antique, refurbished or made from recycled materials. We are happy knowing, hand on heart that almost our entire furniture and decor collection has had a previous life – maybe even several lives before reaching us.

Natural Materials

With care we source products that are made from natural materials that will weather and become naturally more beautiful over time. From wooden furniture and restored leather, to linen, and bamboo we are careful to introduce materials that will recycle and not impact on our planet’s future.

RESPONSIBLY SOURCED

As our business evolves we are ever more conscious of our responsibility to consider ethical practices, and sustainable, natural resources as a priority. We are taking steps and laying the groundwork to insist we only work with suppliers who share these principles, too.

COMMUNITY & PEOPLE

We invest in our community, which is full of talented upholsterers, carpenters, and furniture makers. By supporting local trades and craftspeople; by making it a priority to use their services, using local resources and materials, we are helping keep our carbon footprint as small as possible.

Our Products

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Antique / Vintage

Our antique and vintage finds have a lived history. Collected over the years from around the globe, flea markets, browsing through reclaimed yards, restoration dealers and online sellers. Look out for the vintage symbol to know the product you are hiring is either antique or vintage.
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Natural Materials

We like to keep things classic and simple, and our hire collection celebrates the use of natural materials. Where you see the leaf symbol next to your hire item you will know the materials used to create the product were designed by nature.
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Recycled / Repurposed

Repurposed and reinvented. Creating usable, vibrant items from the previously unusable or discarded. Old, worn Berber rugs have new life as our beautiful Moroccan floor cushions. Reclaimed Elm, now crafted into our coffee tables and stools; and our unique Paxton Chairs are made from recycled oil drums.
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Handmade

When there’s an opportunity to introduce a unique handmade item into the collection, to support an artisan who has crafted using natural and traditional methods we will always jump at the chance! Handmade items are usually created to last the test of time and by their very nature are more sustainable.
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Sustainable Materials

14% of our collection is bamboo, cane, jute or seagrass. These sustainable crops grow with little need for pesticides & have a sustainable lifecycle of regeneration. Our napkins and cushions are linen, one of the most eco-friendly fabrics. Made from the flax plant, it’s 100% biodegradable & recyclable and uses minimal water during production.
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Recycled Plastic

Many of our lovely rugs, blankets and cushions are created 100 % from recycled waste plastic bottles. The process of recycling PET grade plastic into high quality textiles means they don’t just look and feel amazing, they’re super long-lasting and also doing a fantastic job of helping to clean up the planet as well.
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Transport Offset

Transportation is an integral part of running our events business and poses one our biggest challenges. We are making a pledge to offset emissions by planting trees and where you see this symbol on one of our products we are introducing an offsetting program to respond to this challenge.
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Local

We are helping to keep our footprint as small as possible by using UK suppliers, local trade partners, craftspeople and sellers. This not only allows us to keep our carbon emissions and impact on the environment low, but also helps support UK small businesses within the local economy.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DO BETTER

We are committed to minimise and decrease our impact on the planet and its people, and whilst our business already embraces the reusable rather than the disposable, we recognise this as an ongoing work in progress.

GREEN OFFICE

Our business processes are mostly digital, we rarely need to print or use paper.  We use energy saving LED lighting; our office furniture is reclaimed or vintage, and we have living greenery everywhere! We buy organic and/or local fairtrade for our coffee and tea breaks.

We send zero waste to landfill, and reuse, recycle or reinvent packaging as much as possible. We’re clever like that!

We use eco friendly cleaning products; our textiles are washed using plastic saving Eco Eggs, and we use microfibre collecting bags to protect the waterways and oceans.

COMMUNITY

As part of our initiative to contribute back to our community and planet we are planning an annual VFH team day, which will support a local eco project or social cause.

So far, ideas in the hat include a beach clean up, a tree planting day, volunteering day at a local charity, or a fundraising activity!

Watch this space!!

OFFSETTING EMISSIONS

We are on a mission to reduce our impact in every corner of our business and have many eco friendly ideas buzzing around. Along with a tree planting scheme, we are planning to introduce a wild garden habitat in our outdoor space, not only for our team to sit and enjoy but to promote wild species and insects.

We are a work in progress our commitment to do this involves firstly calculating our current carbon footprint. Once this is known we will be looking into ideas to offset our carbon footprint further.

CHALLENGES WE FACE

Transportation and fuel emissions are the biggest challenge for our business, given our activities. We do insist on sea freight where products have been sourced from around the globe, and ensure on only full vehicles for road transport and shipments.

We are also aware that procuring items from overseas means transparency is vital. Moving forward, we are making a pledge to insist on sustainable and ethical supply chains.

This is undergoing constant review and we will update as we innovate in this area.

“A quick SHOUT OUT to thank you ALL for your BRILLIANT WORK, accommodating nature and BEAUTIFUL FURNITURE last weekend.

It could not have FIT THE SETTING and client WHISKY BRAND better. EMBRACING QUALITY, craftmanship, HERITAGE, so many OOOO’s & AHHH’s as guests entered the tent.”

Liz Santos. Event Planner

“Without fail you NEVER let me down! Yet again, because of your STUNNING FURNITURE we produced a FABULOUS WEDDING for Cath Kidston and SHE WAS UTTERLY THRILLED WITH EVERYTHING. Your tables and chairs LOOKED AMAZING”

Phillipa Pease. Event Planner

“Your team were BRILLIANT from start to finish and all of your WONDERFUL FURNITURE really made the venue look AMAZING. I can’t thank you all enough for making it a STRESS-FREE EXPERIENCE for me! You were one of the ONLY VENDORS I DIDN’T LOSE SLEEP OVER - I only WISH that they’d all BEEN AS GOOD as you guys.”

Sara Mabelis. Bride

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    Sign Up to the Virginias Furniture Hire Mailing List

    LET US HELP YOU CREATE SENSATIONAL EVENTS

    Be the first to know about latest products and new packages.

    Discover current furniture and colour trends, read practical styling tips and get the low-down on inspirational real events.