Sustainable design you can actually feel

Sustainability in furniture often gets reduced to a marketing buzzword — a green leaf icon slapped on a product page with nothing to back it up. Gus* Modern is one of the few brands where the eco claims hold up to a closer look. The Toronto-based company has built its sustainability approach around three real, verifiable pillars: responsibly sourced wood, recycled materials, and an innovative vegan leather alternative. Here's what's actually behind each one — and which pieces to shop if sustainability is on your list this season.

Every piece of upholstered furniture needs a solid foundation, and Gus* builds theirs from FSC®-Certified wood (certification #092551). The Forest Stewardship Council® is an independently audited system that verifies wood comes from responsibly managed forests — tracked all the way from forest to finished frame through what's called Chain of Custody certification. In practice, that means the wood inside your sofa frame didn't come at the cost of a poorly managed forest.

Shop FSC-certified favorites:

•     Baltic Chair

•     Truss Chair

•     Mulholland Sofa

•     Towne Sofa

•     Branch Shelving Unit

•     Carmichael Bed

This is the pillar that surprises most people: several Gus* sofas, sectionals, chairs, and rugs use a cushion fill and fabric made from recycled plastic bottles. The bottles go through a purification and refining process that turns them into a long-strand fiber — soft enough to mimic traditional down, durable enough to hold its shape and loft over years of use. It's a genuinely clever way to divert plastic waste from landfills and waterways while making a better cushion in the process.

Two standout examples: the Labrador Chair & Ottoman, whose faux-wool upholstery is made from nearly 100 recycled bottles, and the Construct Rug, made from 964 recycled bottles.

Shop recycled PET pieces:

•     Labrador Chair & Ottoman

•     Labrador Chair

•     Construct Reversible Rug

•     Sola Sofa

•     Silverlake Sofa

•     Podium Modular Lounge

•     Highline Chair

Traditional leather has a well-documented environmental footprint. Gus*'s answer is Vegan AppleSkin™ Leather — an exclusive, Italian-made material created from the food waste of the apple orchard and juicing industries. Leftover fruit fiber is upcycled into a biopolymer material that's OEKO-TEX® Certified (independently tested for health and safety) and has the look, feel, and durability of natural leather without the animal or environmental cost. It even won the PETA Vegan Homeware Award for Innovation.

Shop Vegan AppleSkin™ Leather pieces:

•     Lodge Chair

•     Mirador Lounge Chair

•     Spadina Chair

•     Drummond Pouf

•     Mix Modular 2-PC Sofa

None of this comes at the expense of design. Gus* built its name on clean, mid-century-inspired silhouettes long before "sustainable" became a selling point — the eco story is a layer on top of furniture that already looks good and holds up. That combination is exactly why we carry the line: you don't have to choose between a piece you'll love for years and one that was made responsibly.

Browse the collections above, or reach out and we'll help you find the right piece for your space.  See why it is one of our top brands!