Two Herman Miller Aeron chairs in an office.
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As New York offices continue to struggle to find tenants after the pandemic, some are discarding furniture.
As a result, the iconic Herman Miller chairs popular during the pandemic are ending up in landfills.
About 10 million tons of furniture find its way to US landfills every year, the EPA estimates.
Herman Miller office chairs were once considered by some workers to be the height of office luxury, as well as a cushy work-from-home perk during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, many of those same iconic Aeron chairs — famous enough to be featured in the Museum of Modern Art and which now retail for more than $1,400 — are headed for landfills.
More than three years after the Covid pandemic sent employees home, office spaces in New York City are still only half occupied, the New York Times reported. As those deserted offices clear out, their tenants have had to decide what to do with the abandoned office furniture.
The Times reports that even the most costly, souped-up furniture has found itself on moving trucks en route to landfills, though some lucky ones find themselves at auctions or in the hands of liquidators. About 10 million tons of furniture finds its way to US landfills every year, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Representatives from Dumbo Moving and Storage, a company with three warehouses in New Jersey, told the Times that companies rushed to put their office furniture in storage in 2021 and 2022.
But the life cycle of office furniture doesn’t stop in storage limbo.
Some companies have failed to make their payments, prompting storage companies to put their furniture up for auction — something Dumbo Moving and Storage did once or twice a year pre-pandemic but now do five times per year, according to the Times.
Lior Rachmany, the founder of Dumbo Moving and Storage, told the Times his company has “never seen so many Herman Miller chairs.”
Herman Miller, for its part, advertises that its Aeron chair is “up to 91% recyclable based on available recycling facilities.”
“And now with the new Onyx colorway” — a new color option that costs $160 more than the basic chair — “made with plastic waste diverted from the ocean, you can experience the same comfort with more sustainability,” the site says.
MillerKnoll, Inc., which owns the Herman Miller brand, told Insider in a statement that it expanded its furniture repurposing program in May.
“As the most recognized leader in the office furniture industry, we want to ensure we do our part to keep our products out of landfills and design out waste at all stages of a product’s lifecycle,” the company said in a statement. “We take great responsibility in helping our customers achieve their sustainability goals and hope that our customers take advantage of the programs and services we offer.”