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how did q collection start?jesse: i was in graduate school in 2000 doing a joint environmental management business degree at yale and anthony was an interior designer with his own firm. he had previously worked in some large interior design firms in new york and with martha stewart. we were working on my apartment and a conversation started: can we find furniture, textiles, rugs and window treatments that met anthony's criteria for design and quality but also, for my perspective, took into consideration health and the environment? anthony had never really been asked that before.anthony: i did a search and there were only maybe three companies that had product i would even buy because everything was really, really crunchy. and, as i always say, the colors went from beige to sage.jesse: so we thought: maybe there are people out there, like ourselves, looking for furniture and textiles that have a good combination of design and sustainability. we founded the company in late 2001 and really spent two years doing research about what it means to have sustainable furniture, where it would be produced, where we'd source the products from, etc. we felt that there was enough of a positive response.anthony: the great thing for us is that some people were interested in the environmental story or the health story and some people were just interested in the design. we had managed to succeed where we had married both.how would you describe the style of q collection beyond "fabulous"?anthony: the general design aesthetic here is what's called transitional. we want pieces to be able to go into a very traditional home or a fairly modern home, depending on how they're upholstered and finished. our abigail settee, for example, is probably our most iconic piece. the basic form is a classic wing chair: you can go into any furniture encyclopedia and look for an english wing chair from 150 years ago and you'll find the inspiration for the abigail. instead of making it a chair, we made it a settee. we've made it in white leather with a red painted base, which looked very funky and modern, and we've done it in a pale blue satin wool with traditional nail heads and a dark finish, which fits really well into a very traditional room. most of our furniture inspiration is from historical pieces. with our textile line, it was really important that we show a lot of beautiful color. the expectation with green was that there would be no color. we've managed to get really light lights and really dark darks and really rich jewel tones.can you talk about a piece that you've made greener than it usually is?jesse: we look at sustainability as not just our impact on the environment but also on human health. everything that we design, all the materials we choose, have been thoroughly researched and thought about in terms of impact on both. we eliminated chemicals that are a concern to indoor air quality, which is now stated by the epa to be a larger concern than outdoor air quality. that is staggering when you think about the billions that are spent by governments and companies addressing outdoor air quality. if you see studies about indoor air quality, furniture is typically listed as one of the top few things, along with cleaning products, which contribute. there are a few chemicals which are typically used in furniture that are quite toxic to humans. we've replaced them all with water-based nontoxic materials in our glue, our stains and paints. that's the health side. on the environmental side, wood is obviously a major component of furniture. a lot of wood that is sourced for furniture in the united states comes from threatened ecosystems around the world, whether it's the amazon river area or the pacific northwest where virgin forests or species like teaks and mahogany are threatened. we're using all forest stewardship council-certified wood, which means that we can track specifically where our wood is coming from and know that it's coming from the best managed forests around the world. we've also eliminated the use of petro-chemical-based materials, plastics essentially. we're using natural materials instead, like jute and organic cotton.anthony: the way we did this, when we started the company, we went to my local upholsterer and took a standard sofa, cut it down the middle and said, let's take every single material and inspect it. i think we came up with a list of 17 or 18 materials. this includes the little metal glide in the bottom of the leg, the wood, twine, springs, nails, tacks, filling, batting, everything, and we dissected all of those materials to see which we could use and which had to be replaced with a nontoxic and environmentally friendly option. thankfully, small pieces metals like springs or tacks or nail heads are among of the things that we didn't have to work too hard on. these are typically made from high recycled-content metal to begin with. the only thing that you really have to think about is the finishes. do the nail heads have any finishes on them that are toxic? you just have to be careful about the finishes you're using.what's so unsafe about a sofa?jesse: polyurethane-based foam, used in upholstered furniture, is one of the unhealthiest materials. polyurethane in any application contains a chemical that is known to cause cancer to humans. so we eliminated that—that wasn't acceptable. but the use of flame retardants, brominated flame retardants, specifically, is getting more attention right now. they're part of the foam-making process so that the foam itself is not flammable. initially these chemicals weren't thought to be toxic, like ddt wasn't initially, but then later, after 10, 20 years of data, we now know that they're quite toxic and persistent. they'll stay with you for your lifetime. europe has now banned this whole class of chemicals, but it's still used widely in the united states. i just read yesterday that washington is the first state to ban them, but they're not being eliminated till 2011. so we're one of the few companies that have eliminated completely the use of brominated flame retardants in both our textiles and our furniture.what's your dream piece?jesse: i just had a son three months ago, so our new children's line of furniture and bedding is very much on my mind. it's fascinating to me that we're at a point where indoor air quality is so bad. we've been putting our children into and around furniture that emits materials that are known to be harmful to humans. so we've designed a whole line that removes all the chemicals of concern, has been tested independently for indoor air quality and also uses certified wood and 100 percent recycled-content wood. i'm very proud that we'll be coming out with a line that is for the infants of the world.anthony: while i'm very proud of that, i have a different dream. i'd like to bring the same design aesthetic to adult furniture in the retail market. we're asked a lot by people, 'you're a mostly to-the-trade, high-end showroom. i'd like to be able to buy your sofa off the floor in a retail environment.' all of our friends and a lot of customers ask for that. i think it'd be really amazing within the next few years if we launch a retail line for regular, adult furniture that is priced competitively and approachable for everyone.what do you make of green as a trend?anthony: being healthy isn't a trend.jesse: we don't have the luxury anymore of designing products that don't take into consideration the environment. in the years to come, people will know this even more. so it's definitely not just a trend.what is the most recent green habit that you've adopted in your own life?anthony: i rented a new apartment and painted it all with zero voc paints—my wall color is a fresh, gray beige, my ceilings are pale blue-green and in the bathroom, there's all white tile and the walls are really dark olive. i also switched over all of my cleaning supplies to mrs. meyers. they have a geranium-scented hand soap that smells really good.jesse: with a newborn in our lives, we've made a lot of changes in our home. when we were setting up his nursery, we were very conscious of the paints we were using and the flooring we were using. five years ago, there weren't organic baby-formula options on the market, but now, thankfully, you can find it.is there a product or service that you wish were green that isn't?anthony: i wish there were more environmentally friendly dry cleaners.jesse: we just got back from vacation and, you know, took a plane. i think in a few years, whether you pay a little extra or somehow, the major companies, the continentals, will all have some carbon offset.is teak really green?jesse: we don't use teak and i haven't looked into it a ton, but my understanding is that historically, forest stewardship council, the standard for ensuring that wood is sustainably harvested, no longer certifies teak. they're not comfortable with its production methods.do you have an eco-sin?jesse: my wife and i order from fresh direct [a groceries and delivery service]. in theory, it's got great potential for having a small environmental footprint, but you'll order bananas, a carton of milk, and grapes, and they come in three separate boxes. the boxes and the trucks—it's so wasteful in shipping and transportation. it constantly frustrates us. i hope fresh direct listens to this and makes changes.anthony: i cannot find a soy-based, naturally scented candle that i like the scent of. so i use another kind of candle that isn't so green (but i like the smell).when was the last time you experienced an eco-conflict?anthony: when i renovated my new apartment, i really wanted an organic wool carpet that was red. being a designer, i want the aesthetic that i want and i don't feel that i should sacrifice. i went to twenty different carpet vendors and the price difference between a wool carpet and a synthetic carpet was triple—nearly $10,000 per room for a wool carpet. i couldn't afford it and it was really frustrating.jesse: my wife and i recently renovated our apartment and we were very thoughtful in doing a green renovation, but one of the areas we ran into a problem was on our small balcony. we would find outdoor planters and most of them would say they're certified teak. we'd ask for the certification and they'd never provide them. after four or five outdoor planters, it was absorbing an enormous amount of our time. so, we eventually just bought them and took their word for it but it still lingers that i don't really know where those things came from.