Earth to People’s furniture collection taps nature’s own glue

There are furniture that simply exist as functional pieces to fulfill a role in our lives, like to hold our things or to hold our bodies. And then there are those that also want to add some aesthetics to our spaces. And then are those that also want to make a statement about things like consumption and sustainability. There are also those collections that can bring all of these elements together.

New York’s Earth to People has debuted its sustainable and poetic furniture line, Salvage and Sap, revolutionizing modern design with ancient, eco-conscious techniques. The workshop forgoes industrial glues entirely, opting instead for pure, hand‑harvested tree sap to bind reclaimed materials. This sap is carefully harvested, collected from tree surfaces, heated and filtered to yield a non-toxic pine resin. It’s then used with wooden dowels from cedar off‑cuts to hold large timber elements together in sturdy, natural joints.

Designer: Earth to People

Earth to People sources centuries‑old cedar struck by wind in Squamish, British Columbia. Logs are air‑dried (not kiln‑dried), and each piece includes GPS data, giving owners full transparency into the origin of their furniture. A standout is a chair carved from three blocks of cedar from a single 400‑year‑old tree. Every stage of production emphasizes handcrafted, low-impact processes. Logs are milled and shaped by hand, sap is processed manually, and even the joining techniques avoid chemicals entirely in favor of traditional methods.

The collection includes aluminum furniture—like sconces and a floor lamp—made from locally recycled scrap metal . These pieces echo ancient monoliths in their minimalist geometric forms—think soft-piped rectangular plinths with subtle slits for ambient light. One chair features a custom cushion made from cotton and hemp, stuffed with cedar shavings left over from processing. Another floor lamp uses shingles from a 300-year-old cedar, held together with hand-woven cedar bark cordage. These details not only highlight beauty in upcycling—they also ensure zero waste.

This furniture collection is basically a “manifesto” of sorts that combines age-old joinery with local materials and human-scale craftsmanship. From hand‑filtered sap glue to GPS‑tracked timber and recycled metal lighting, each piece offers aesthetic intrigue and ecological responsibility in equal measure. Plus of course, they’re easy on the eyes so you would display it proudly. They are able to slow things down and ask us to consider not just how things look or function, but where they come from and how they’re made. Earth to People doesn’t just offer furniture; it offers a conversation piece, a philosophy you can sit on, lean against, or light your room with. By weaving together beauty, utility, and responsibility, this collection proves that sustainability doesn’t have to compromise style as it can define it.