Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Maria Yee to Launch Collection Using Sustainable MDF Alternative
October 4,
2017 by Larry Thomas in Business Strategy, Green, Industry 
Contemporary furniture resource Maria Yee is set to unveil a furniture and lighting collection constructed with a sustainable, plant-based material that is billed as an alternative to medium-density fiberboard.
The collection, which will launch at next week’s High Point Market, uses a material called Lux that the company said has performance results that rival MDF, plastic and plywood, but with extremely low emissions of formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOC).
Plus, the new material weighs less than MDF, which reduces shipping costs and damage claims, the company said.
“Lux has unique design capabilities which cannot be achieved by most other single materials,” the company said in a statement announcing the new collection. “Our collection includes pieces which have been steam molded, miter folded, cut on CNC routers, and dyed.”
Maria Yee has been working with chemical supplier BASF for more than four years to develop Lux for furniture applications.
The company said Lux is composed primarily of plant fibers such as flax, jute, hemp, kenaf, and sisal. These five fast growing plants do not contribute to deforestation and do not compete with human food chain supply. Lux panels are natural to the touch and dense with texture, featuring a beautiful, organic coloration, company officials said.
“As the need for sustainable materials rises and becomes required by the furniture industry, LUX will provide an intelligent solution,” the company said.