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Eco-friendly Wood Floors
A growing number of timber producers and traders are claiming their products are eco-friendly. Some are accurate, but others are misleading or exaggerated. If you want to be sure your floor is environmentally friendly, look for the certifying stamp to distinguish between fake and genuine ecological forest products. How do you know the certifying stamp is itself genuine? The answer is credible, independent certification for forestry and forest products.
THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS
Forest certification is a voluntary process designed to show consumers that the wood products they buy were grown and harvested in a way that protects forests for the long term. Certifiers assess the on-the-ground forest practices of a given operation against a stringent set of environmental and social criteria. Operations that meet those standards may identify their products as originating from a well-managed source. The certifier also tracks the custody of the certified wood to ensure that it is kept separate from non-certified material at each stage of processing and distribution from forest to finished products.
So what wood is green?
In terms of wood sources and types, there are two clear frontrunners;
- Reclaimed hardwood is taken from old warehouses, buildings, bridges, tanks, and other structures that await deconstruction and reuse, as well as trees that have been removed from urban areas (for multitudes of reasons). It is not only good reuse of the wood, but this kind of wood is older, and so often harder, more stable, and better quality.
- Bamboo needs little (if any) irrigation, pesticides, or fertilizers. Additionally, the root stays alive after harvesting, regrowing within 3-5 years, compared to the 25-50 years it can take many woods to reach marketable quality.
But be careful about which bamboo you buy; there are few, if any, regulations and rules concerning quality, grading and colour consistency. And while the growing process is environmentally friendly, the by-products of the manufacturing process are often disposed of by dumping in the local rivers or streams.
So in the end it comes down to the companies involved – see if they are certified and inquire at competitors about their reputation. And of course, you’re welcome to start with the brands right here on our website.
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