The Future of Sustainable Office Solutions: Sam Coggin's 2025 Industry Insights

Ida Gorecka • January 14, 2025

Making Smarter Office Furniture Choices in 2025

When your office needs new furniture, you've got two choices: buy new or go for quality refurbished pieces. As prices keep climbing and delivery times stretch longer, more businesses are discovering that "new" isn't always better. We sat down with Sam Coggin to talk about what's working, what isn't, and what's next for offices trying to make smarter office furniture choices.

Changing How We Track and Reuse Office Furniture

The days of losing track of office furniture are numbered. "I believe asset management and tracking tools will play a crucial role in enhancing reuse within large organisations," Sam tells us. Pointing to real innovation happening right now, he notes how "Arpenter for instance, have already made significant strides in this area, demonstrating how effective tracking and management of assets can drive sustainability and efficiency. These tools provide valuable insights into asset lifecycles, making it easier to identify opportunities for reuse and reducing waste."

What Sustainability Really Means for Your Business

When it comes to sustainability, there's a lot of discussions but not always a lot of action. Sam breaks it down for us: "For the most part, becoming more sustainable as a business can be expensive due to the significant infrastructure changes required. Sustainability is not a quick fix, and I don't buy into the 'net zero' hype as just a box-ticking exercise. True sustainability is a conscious choice that requires ongoing commitment. It's about embracing innovation and solutions that genuinely support the circular economy, rather than settling for superficial measures."


The good news? Things are moving in the right direction. "We're seeing encouraging progress from corporates, largely thanks to the dedication of sustainability professionals and consultants who are working hard to integrate better practices into these organisations. However, there's still a long way to go, as the easier, more convenient route is often chosen over long-term sustainable solutions. True progress will require a greater commitment to challenging the status quo and prioritising impactful change over convenience."

Why Choose Refurbished Office Furniture for Your Next Office Update 

With costs rising everywhere, businesses are looking closer at their options. "I believe more businesses will start prioritising cost savings wherever possible, and one of the smartest ways to achieve this is by investing in reuse. With potential savings of up to 80%, it's not just an environmentally responsible choice-it's also a highly economical one!"


However, this isn't just about saving money. "Economic conditions are significantly influencing decisions between new and refurbished furniture, with many businesses prioritising cost-effectiveness in the face of financial pressures. Refurbished furniture is becoming an increasingly attractive option due to its ability to offer substantial savings-up to 80% compared to new furniture-without compromising on quality or functionality. Additionally, businesses are seeking sustainable solutions that align with growing environmental concerns and corporate social responsibility goals. Refurbished furniture aligns perfectly with these objectives, as it supports the circular economy by extending product lifecycles and reducing waste. For many organisations, the combination of reduced costs and sustainability benefits makes refurbished furniture a practical and appealing choice in today's uncertain economic climate."

What Europe's New Policies Mean for Your Office Furniture Choices

New rules are coming that will change how office furniture is made and sold. Sam explains: "With new policies being implemented across Europe, I believe we'll see increased focus on due diligence regarding how products are manufactured. This shift will likely prioritise direct reuse in product design, moving beyond the traditional emphasis on front-end recyclable materials."


But there are still challenges to solve. "Until policies are updated, it will remain challenging to achieve better control over material recycling. The current focus seems to be more on converting waste into reusable material rather than extending its lifecycle through continuous reuse. This approach undermines the goal of keeping valuable materials in circulation, as it stops short of maximising their potential within a circular economy."

Where to Find Tomorrow's Office Solutions Today

Interestingly, the biggest changes aren't coming from furniture manufacturers. "Progress remains slow overall, largely because manufacturers show little interest in supporting the circular economy-and understandably so. Their focus is on producing new products, not on designing them to last longer or be reused."


Sam emphasises that the innovation is coming from a different direction: "From the start, I've maintained that second-hand dealers who have managed to formalise their operations will make the real difference. With their experience and the facilities needed to handle refurbishment and recycling at scale, they're uniquely positioned to drive meaningful change in extending the lifecycle of products."

Zero Waste Clearance: What We Do With Your Old Office Furniture

At Coggin SOS, we're putting these ideas into practice. "We've demonstrated that by recycling office furniture down to its component form, we can achieve a zero-landfill solution. As one of the first in the UK to specialise exclusively in office furniture recycling, we can focus entirely on optimising waste streams to maximise reuse potential. For instance, waste plastic from office chairs is shredded into regrind at our facility and sold back to polymer processors, where it's reused to manufacture new products. This process not only supports sustainability but also ensures valuable materials remain in circulation."

How the Office Furniture Industry Is Evolving

The whole sector is adapting to meet these new challenges: "The industry is adapting to changing sustainability expectations by embracing practices and innovations that align with circular economy principles. Businesses are increasingly prioritising reuse and refurbishment over replacement, recognising the environmental and cost benefits of extending product lifecycles. Manufacturers and suppliers are incorporating sustainable materials, designing products for easier disassembly, and reducing waste in production processes."

Making Your 2025 Office Furniture Decisions Count

While furniture manufacturers keep pushing new products, we've shown a different path forward. From turning your old office chairs into raw materials for new products, to helping you save up to 80% on quality furniture that's ready now - not in three months. Sam's insights reveal how the industry's biggest innovations aren't coming from big manufacturers, but from those willing to challenge old habits.


The way we think about office furniture is changing. As we've seen, it's not about 'new vs used' anymore - it's about making choices that work for your business, your budget, and the planet. Want to explore what's possible? Let’s chat.

The Office Furniture Strategy That's Hiding in Plain Sight

By Sam Coggin • October 16, 2025
Why Treating Furniture as Disposable Is Costing You More Than Money Walk into any office during a refurbishment and you'll see it: perfectly functional furniture heading for skips whilst new equivalents get ordered. We've normalised a throwaway culture that makes no business sense. Here's the thing—your office furniture strategy is actually a resource management strategy. And most businesses are getting it completely wrong. The 10-Year Desk That Could Last 30 Quality office furniture is engineered to last decades. That Herman Miller chair? Built for 30+ years of daily use. Solid wood desks? Practically indestructible with basic maintenance. Even well-made MDF furniture can serve for 15-20 years. Yet average office furniture replacement cycles run 5-7 years. Not because furniture fails—because offices move, rebrand, or someone decides it looks dated. We're throwing away assets with 70% of their useful life remaining. The Hidden Value in "Old" Office Furniture That dated reception desk isn't broken—it just needs refinishing. The conference table that doesn't match your new brand colours? It's still a conference table. Those filing cabinets from 2010? They still file things. The furniture reuse market is booming because smart businesses realised: Refurbishment costs 20-40% of replacement Quality vintage office furniture often exceeds modern standards "Dated" to you might be "perfect" for someone else Storage costs less than disposal plus replacement Why Circular Makes Commercial Sense The traditional model: Buy → Use (5 years) → Skip → Landfill fees → Buy again The circular model: Buy quality → Use → Refurbish → Use → Redeploy internally → Sell/donate → Someone else uses The second model extracts maximum value from every purchase. It's not environmental ideology—it's basic asset management. The Material Hierarchy of Sense When you must dispose of furniture, the value recovery hierarchy is straightforward: Metal furniture (filing cabinets, desk frames): Scrap value often covers removal costs Infinitely recyclable without quality loss Local scrap dealers will collect Wooden furniture: Refurbishment market is strong Solid wood retains value for decades Worst case: biomass fuel value Upholstered items: Reupholstery extends life by decades Foam and fabric recycling infrastructure growing Frame often outlasts covering by years Plastic furniture: Limited reuse market Recycling depends on plastic type Often the truly disposable option The Procurement Shift That Changes Everything Instead of asking "What's cheapest?" ask: What's the total life cost including disposal? Can we lease furniture and return it? Is there a take-back scheme? What's the refurbishment potential? Could we buy refurbished instead? Quality furniture that costs twice as much but lasts three times longer isn't expensive—it's a bargain. Your Practical Action Plan This month: Audit furniture due for replacement—does it really need replacing? Get refurbishment quotes alongside replacement quotes Find local furniture reuse charities—tax benefits plus free removal This quarter: Build furniture lifecycle into office move planning Create internal furniture redeployment system Partner with furniture refurbishment specialists This year: Shift procurement to quality + longevity over low initial cost Track furniture age and plan maintenance, not just replacement Calculate true total cost of ownership including disposal The Business Case Nobody's Making Every piece of furniture that gets reused or refurbished: Reduces procurement costs Eliminates disposal fees Maintains proven functionality Avoids delivery disruption Prevents waste compliance headaches This isn't about sustainability targets. It's about extracting maximum value from assets you've already paid for. The Bottom Line We've been conditioned to see office furniture as disposable. But it's not packaging—it's infrastructure. And successful businesses don't throw away functioning infrastructure. Your office furniture strategy shouldn't be about staying trendy. It should be about managing valuable assets sensibly. Next time someone suggests replacing functional furniture, ask: "What's actually wrong with what we have?" The answer might save you more than money. Want to discuss furniture lifecycle strategies? Share your biggest office furniture challenge in the comments.
Refurbished Herman Miller Aeron chair in a home office with text overlay on size and options guide.

Aeron Chairs: How to Choose the Right Size and Options

By Sam Coggin • September 30, 2025
Discover how to choose the right size and options for a Herman Miller Aeron chair. Save money and support sustainability with refurbished models.

One Size Doesn't Fit All: The Benefits of Resizing and Repurposing Office Desks

By Ida Gorecka • September 8, 2025
Your office transformation is approved. Budget's signed off. New layout's finalised. There's just one problem: those 1600mm executive desks that worked perfectly in the old corner offices are now 400mm too wide for your new collaborative pods. The reception desk you spent £3,000 on last year? It's the wrong height entirely for your rebrand. Most facilities managers would see this as a disposal problem. Skip hire , landfill tax , 12-week lead times for replacements. But what if that's completely backwards? What if the furniture that doesn't fit isn't a problem to solve, but an asset to unlock? Every year in the UK, around 1.2 million desks and 1.8 million office chairs are sent to landfill and only 14 % of them are being reused (Source: WRAP , Lancashire Business View ). Those old, "wrong-sized" desks you're planning to skip? They can be professionally refurbished and resized to your exact specifications in 7-10 days , at 40-70% less than new , with zero waste and a 12-month warranty . This article is for facilities managers, procurement leads, and fit-out teams who want practical, product-focused solutions. You’ll see when resizing and repurposing makes sense, the savings it delivers, the compliance boxes it ticks, and how to roll it out step by step. Curious what your current desks could deliver if resized or refurbished? Book a free assessment - we’ll map options, costs, and timelines for you.