Eco Friendly Wood – Choosing Sustainable Options for Your Indoor Furniture
When it comes to choosing sustainable materials for your indoor furniture, you’ll find that wood is a great option. Wood possesses remarkable sustainability due to the carbon sequestration potential of timber trees and the carbon offset value it offers throughout the life-cycle of wood products. But not all woods are created equal when it comes to furniture durability. To ensure your furniture stands the test of time, it’s important to consider the sustainability of the wood you choose. Let’s explore some of the most eco friendly wood types you can opt for when furnishing your indoor space.
The Most Sustainable Wood Options
You’ll be pleased to know that these woods are abundantly accessible, thanks to their large populations. This abundance makes sustainable harvesting much more achievable. Moreover, their impressive strength and density ensure that they will endure for a significant period of time as part of your home, effectively fulfilling their role in carbon storage. What’s even better is that the plain-sawn form of these sustainable wood options exhibits an environmentally advantageous carbon balance, with more carbon uptake than carbon emission. By selecting these woods for your indoor furniture, you can contribute to a greener environment while enjoying their long-lasting beauty and functionality.
Black Cherry Wood
Black cherry wood boasts an impressively low carbon footprint of 301 kg CO2-eq, cradle-to-gate. In fact, it surpasses all other US-native hardwoods of similar density and strength in terms of carbon emissions.
Furthermore, black cherry wood, also known as American cherry wood, is an excellent choice for sustainable furniture. Its durability as timber and the rapid rate at which cut wood is replenished in the wild contribute to its sustainability. By opting for black cherry wood, you can have confidence that you’re selecting a hardwood that not only brings beauty and functionality to your furniture but also supports the environment through its sustainable sourcing practices.
Beechwood
When it comes to its carbon footprint, beechwood boasts a value of 377 kg CO2-eq, cradle-to-gate, which falls within the mid-range compared to commonly traded American hardwoods. What sets beechwood apart is its impressive strength, comparable to that of oak, while having a carbon footprint that is approximately two-thirds less than white oak.
Moreover, one of the key factors contributing to beechwood’s sustainability is its local availability. This means that the transportation footprint associated with beechwood is relatively low compared to imported hardwoods. By selecting beechwood for your furniture, you not only benefit from its strength and durability but also contribute to reducing environmental impacts by supporting a locally sourced and sustainable material.
Hard Maple Wood
With a carbon footprint of 394 kg CO2-eq, hard maple remains one of the most sustainable hardwood species available. This is primarily due to the remarkable durability of the timber it produces.
Furthermore, hard maple trees thrive abundantly in forests across the United States. This abundance allows for the sustainable harvesting of timber without causing harm to the forests. By choosing hard maple for your furniture, you not only benefit from its durability and aesthetic appeal but also contribute to the preservation and responsible management of US forests.
Ash Wood
Ash wood possesses exceptional durability, comparable to the strength and density of oak. Furthermore, there is an additional environmental advantage to sourcing ash timber. Due to the devastating infestation of the Emerald Ash Borer, many ash trees have been killed.
However, the silver lining is that reclaiming ash timber from these deceased trees presents an environmentally friendly approach to sourcing this wood. By opting for furniture made from reclaimed ash, you not only benefit from its durability and beauty but also actively contribute to sustainable practices by repurposing timber that would otherwise go to waste.
Eastern Red Cedar Wood
This remarkable tree species offers a combination of strength, anti-fungal properties, and anti-bacterial characteristics, making it highly sustainable.
One of the key factors contributing to Eastern red cedar’s sustainability is its wide natural range. This means that timber can be sourced within a relatively short traveling distance, reducing the environmental impact associated with transportation.
Furthermore, Eastern red cedar’s lightweight nature plays a significant role in maintaining a low transporting footprint. This feature allows for more efficient transportation, further minimizing the environmental impact.
Mango Wood
You’ll be intrigued to discover why mango wood is an exceptional choice for sustainable furniture. One of the key factors contributing to its sustainability is the way it is harvested. Mango wood is obtained as a by-product after mango trees have completed their fruit-bearing cycle. This means that the wood is harvested without causing any harm to the trees themselves.
Mango wood, despite its tropical origin, possesses remarkable qualities that make it a sustainable material. It is a hard yet flexible hardwood that reaches maturity and can be harvested after approximately 15 years. This relatively short rotation period, coupled with its by-product nature, ensures that mango wood remains a sustainable choice for furniture production, even if it requires traveling longer distances.
Bamboo
You’ll be fascinated to discover why bamboo is an incredibly sustainable choice for various applications, including furniture. Bamboo plants possess several unique qualities that contribute to their sustainability. Firstly, bamboo has an exceptionally rapid growth rate, far surpassing that of timber trees. This means that it can reach maturity in a relatively short period compared to traditional hardwoods. After three to five years of planting, mature bamboo can be harvested sustainably.
What’s even more impressive is that bamboo has a remarkable ability to self-propagate. When properly harvested, the roots can be left undisturbed, allowing the plant to regrow rapidly without the need for fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides.
Additionally, bamboo stands out for its exceptional strength, surpassing even steel, and its remarkable resistance to water, infestation, rotting, and warping compared to traditional hardwoods. Furniture crafted from bamboo can endure for many years, offering both durability and longevity.
Furthermore, the lightweight nature of bamboo contributes to its versatility. During extreme weather conditions, bamboo furniture can be easily moved under cover, prolonging its lifespan and protecting it from potential damage.
Which of the Sustainable Woods Do You Prefer?
Embrace the power of sustainability and make a positive impact by selecting furniture crafted from these eco-friendly wood options. Your choices today shape the future, creating a more sustainable and harmonious environment for generations to come. Let your furniture reflect your commitment to sustainability and be a testament to your dedication to a greener world.
