Sustainable Wood
Currently, there is no clearly defined definition of sustainable wood. This fact leads to much confusion since the market for sustainable wood is growing due to increased demand and public interest. You need to do your research if you are someone looking to buy "sustainable wood." Not all products that are labeled eco-friendly are truly genuine. There are lumber companies out there that are unscrupulous enough to merely slap a "Sustainable decking" or "Sustainable flooring" label on any old bundle of wood.
There are many woods that many companies like to call "sustainable." Some lumber companies go out of there way to tell you that they have the best wood, but their competitors do not. Why? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they only sell certain types of wood whereas their competitors have a completely different selection of species. Here's the deal. While there are definitely species of trees that are endangered, those trees are mostly protected by national governments and are not sold through normal means. However, when it comes to sustainable wood in legitimate markets, it's not so much the wood, but HOW the wood was cultivated and harvested that make it sustainable. So, how do you find lumber companies that actually have wood that has been responsibly grown and cut through sustainable forestry practices?
Buyer's who are looking for a way to sort out lumber companies need to, first and foremost, find out if they are certified through the Forest Stewardship Council. The FSC is a non-partisan, non-profit, worldwide organization that, since 1993, has been dedicated to promoting eco-friendly forestry and sustainable forestry practices. They have set up a strict set of policies and procedures and have offices throughout the world whose job it is to ensure that these regulations are followed. To say that the FSC has made a lasting impact in green building and the green economy is an understatement. This is why, if you are looking to build a LEED home that is certified through the United States Green Building Council, the use of FSC wood like FSC ipe and other hardwoods is recommended and rewarded.
Here are some critical questions to ask to be 100% certain that you are working with an eco-friendly lumber company that sells sustainable wood:
1) Do they harvest dead or fallen trees so that new trees can grow?
2) Are they certified by the Forest Stewardship Council?
3) Do they also harvest trees that no longer produce seeds?
4) Are they members of the United States Green Building Council?
5) Do they plant at least five new trees for every one that they cut?
6) Do they practice selective logging?
While there is no strict and worldwide definition of sustainable wood, there is a general consensus that sustainable wood is harvested from managed forests and forestry practices that don't just focus on harvesting trees, but cultivating them as well. What's more, these sustainable forestry practices can expand to other tree species as well. For instance, if you choose to buy sustainable ipe decking from a FSC Chain of Custody company, you can rest easy knowing that for every tree that was cut, at least another fiver were planted. In addition, it's also a common practice in eco-friendly forestry to not just plant and cultivate one specific tree. In fact, the FSC may mandate that in order to harvest some ipe wood, a lumber company will have to plant some other species of tree in another region.
The sustainable wood market will continue to grow. There's no doubt that with increased social awareness about environmental issues, the public will continue to demand lumber companies bring more sustainable wood products. As long as you do your research and promote the companies that are doing business the right way, this trend will continue and sustainable wood will not just become a niche product, but the standard wood product for the foreseeable future.
Posted by Admin
Overview
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many plants. It has been used for centuries for both fuel and as a construction material for several types of living areas such as houses. Construction with wood is known as carpentry. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers (which are strong in tension) embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression. In the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of trees (and other woody plants). In a living tree it transfers water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues, and has a support function, enabling woody plants to reach large sizes or to stand up for themselves. Wood may also refer to other plant materials with comparable properties, and to material engineered from wood, or wood chips or fiber. People have used wood for millennia for many purposes, primarily as a fuel or as a construction material for making houses, tools, weapons, furniture, packaging, artworks, and paper. Wood can be dated by carbon dating and in some species by dendrochronology to make inferences about when a wooden object was created. The year-to-year variation in tree-ring widths and isotopic abundances gives clues to the prevailing climate at that time. Wood, in the strict sense, is yielded by trees, which increase in diameter by the formation, between the existing wood and the inner bark, of new woody layers which envelop the entire stem, living branches, and roots. Technically this is known as secondary growth; it is the result of cell division in the vascular cambium, a lateral meristem, and subsequent expansion of the new cells.