Sustainable furniture means a sustainable future and that's why at Raft we refuse to take shortcuts. As a family-run, ethical furniture company, we make sustainability a priority every single day. Making ethical choices is at the centre of what we do. At Raft, we refuse to take shortcuts at the expense of people or the planet. This means using reclaimed teak for our wooden furniture. This means being the first company to use a solar powered kiln in Indonesia to season our timber. This means building a sofa factory in North London, near our head office and showrooms.
Raft Furniture is a family-run business based in London, with showrooms in Westfield, St Albans, Richmond, Cricklewood, Bristol and Steyning. As a small company with a handful of beautiful showrooms, shopping at Raft is a personal, bespoke experience. Mick Quinn and Heinz Frye founded the company in 1999 and are hands on directors to this day. With unmatched expertise in the field, including an involvement in the design and manufacturing process, the co-founders and directors make Raft a fantastic place to work and shop.
Beyond using reclaimed and sustainably sourced teak to make our wooden furniture, we want to care for our ecosystems wherever we can. The fast fashion and fast furniture industry are responsible for much of the destruction of our ecosystems. We don't want to contribute to this.
Trees are so important because they are air purifiers and stand as our biggest natural allies against the climate crisis. Revegetating and tree planting after the eruption of Mount Merapi in 2010 was a priority.
The Go Green event was on 10th April 2011 in the district of Umbul Harjo, Sleman, Yogyakarta. This is approximately 8km to the south of Mount Merapi's peak. There was significant damage to natural surroundings at this distance. On the day the Raft team were among 1,650 people who contributed to the planting of 5,004 new trees of various species.
The decision to make our sofas by hand in our own factory in North London is one we are immensely proud of. With our own team of artisans and upholsterers making our sofas so near to our head office and showrooms, we can control the quality, style and comfort of each model. Have bespoke requirements? That's the beauty of Raft. Each sofa is handmade to order meaning that your sofa is personal to you. Choose from thousands of fabrics. Modify your interiors to suit your needs. Just get in touch with us on web chat or pop into your local showroom!