There are almost 60 furniture projects in Scotland. Most exist to provide donated furniture at a low cost, or free, to a particular target group, usually to people on a low income. They range from projects that are run entirely by volunteers to large organisations that have over 20 employees and help thousands of people every year.
Furniture projects in Scotland are used by over 100,000 people per year, 68,000 of whom are on a low income and around 30,000 are moving out of homelessness.
Some projects are focused on providing employment or training, often to people who would otherwise be 'hard to employ'. Across Scotland, projects provide employment to around 300 people and training places to another 860. Many projects provide volunteer placements. Across the country, furniture projects provide over 1000 volunteer placements.
In 2007, community based furniture projects re-used 14,000 tonnes of furniture and appliances across Scotland; These are items that would probably otherwise end up in landfill. A number of projects also recycle wood and glass, paper and cans.