How to Buy Sustainable Wood Products

As a consumer, it's your duty to choose products that help protect the environment for future generations. Learning how to locate and buy sustainable wood products isn't as difficult as you may think. With a little bit of time and effort, you can sleep easier knowing that you're doing your part to help the environment. Read on to learn how to buy sustainable wood products.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Understand what makes wood sustainable. Sustainable can mean different things depending on the type of wood. Bamboo is considered sustainable because it grows so quickly and is easily replenished. Trees like oak or birch can be sustainable, as long as the company plants new trees to replace the ones it cuts down.
2. Stick close to home. Traditional wood products have to do a lot of traveling to get to your doorstep. Choose local wood products whenever possible to keep costs low and keep small manufacturers in business. Buying local also lets you keep closer tabs on where your wood comes from and the practices surrounding its production.
3. Ask how the wood was handled. When you buy sustainable wood products, there's much more to the process than just replanting some trees. To pick the most green-friendly option, you want something that hasn't been chemically treated or processed, and that has been air dried. This uses less energy and keeps the wood clean and pure.
4. Get to the heart of it. Many manufacturers are embracing more eco-friendly means of production, but that doesn't always mean that they have the environment's best interests at heart. Ask lots of questions to make sure that the manufacturer not only spends a certain amount of its proceeds to support local forestry endeavors, but goes out of its way to protect the wildlife that lives there.