our wood products

We verify that every virgin wood product we sell comes from sustainably managed forests.

That means the forests are selectively logged and managed to maintain clear streams, varied tree and brush cover, abundant recreation opportunities and rich animal habitat. Loggers of our lumber pay as much attention to what they leave behind in the forest as they do to the logs they haul to the mill.

How can I tell if lumber is harvested from a well-managed forest?

Look for the FSC label of the Forest Stewardship Council. This independent non-profit organization has taken the worldwide lead in promoting sustainable forestry. It was formed in 1993 by a wide variety of organizations from 25 countries.

Today, FSC acts as a global umbrella group that sets the basic policies for what qualifies as sustainable forestry. It leaves most of the details up to its inspection agencies and to regional and national groups of foresters, community members and environmental organizations. To get FSC approval, forest operations must meet 57 criteria, including selective harvesting, protection of local wildlife, minimal use of chemical pesticides, and the assurance that the rights of workers and indigenous communities are respected.

FSC has accredited nine inspection organizations worldwide. Two are based in the United States-the non-profit SmartWood Alliance, in Vermont, and the for-profit Scientific Certification Systems, in California. These two organizations sometimes work together on complicated or controversial projects.

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Can other wood products be certified?

Yes. FSC's goal is to certify all wood products -- everything from paper to particleboard to furniture.

Products made from wood fibers-such as paper and particleboard-can carry an FSC label if the organization certifies at least 17 percent of the fiber as sustainably harvested, provided that all of the other wood fibers are recycled or reclaimed. (FSC calls these “neutral” fibers.) If only some of the fibers are sustainably harvested, the label must clearly state the percentage.

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Does FSC certification really improve forestry practices?

It does, and the system accomplishes even more as consumer demand for FSC-certified wood increases. At first, only companies already dedicated to good forest management tended to seek certification, so the actual changes in forestry weren’t very dramatic. But when large retailers starting giving preference to suppliers with certified products, forest owners exercising more aggressive cutting practices began to seek certification. Some recent applicants will need to make significant changes if they expect to use FSC's label.

In a recent certification of 232,024 acres in northwestern California, inspectors required the owner to leave more trees, create wider buffers next to streams and protect scattered tracts of intact old-growth redwood forest, totaling about 130 acres. The company had to promise to reduce use of herbicides by 60 percent over the next four years. And it must dramatically improve relations with the local community.

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Does ecohaus stock lumber that isn’t certified?

In some cases we do, if we find a product's environmental benefits compelling and we have no question that the wood came from well-managed forests. For example, we sell hardwood flooring from Europe because the quality is superb, the forests have been managed for a long time, and the flooring comes with an innovative attachment system that gives many customers an alternative to laminate flooring, which is less environmentally friendly. We also sell ipe decking because it is extremely durable even without annual application of a sealer, and because the species is plentiful. Our supplier participates in reforestation efforts.

For a wood-floor option that leaves forests intact, we offer reclaimed-wood flooring. The wood used to make this flooring has been carefully salvaged from urban areas, orchards and waterways, or cut from dead and fallen trees. Much of this material would end up in overflowing landfills if it were not reused.

We also sell products made by members of the Healthy Forests Healthy Communities Partnership (HFHC), a network of locally owned Pacific Northwest companies that make products from sustainably produced wood. The small businesses of HFHC are committed to promoting forest health and the economic well-being of rural communities.

You will never have to wonder where our wood came from. We can identify the species, grade and source of all of the lumber in our warehouse.

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Is FSC the only organization that certifies wood?

Several other programs work with landowners to promote sustainable forestry, although none operates exactly like FSC.

The program most often compared to FSC is the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). It is sponsored by the American Forest & Paper Association, a trade group whose members own 90 percent of the industrial timberland in the country. SFI sets broad standards and requires members to file annual reports showing how they are complying.

FSC and SFI differ in many specifics. For example, SFI allows clear cuts of up to 120 acres, while FSC's limit is 40 acres. SFI embraces the planting of genetically modified trees as one of the benefits that science can bring to the industry, while FSC favors natural selection and allows only traditional seed-breeding techniques. SFI simply requires companies to obey laws about pesticide use; FSC requires companies to reduce their use of pesticides. SFI puts the landowners clearly in charge; FSC gives environmentalists and community groups a say in how certified forests are run. SFI has no “chain-of-custody” program similar to FSC’s, so people buying the lumber can’t be certain how it was harvested.

Another group, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), is working to improve forestry through its ISO 9000 (quality control) and ISO 14000 (environmental management) programs. ISO aims to get companies to set appropriate goals and targets, and then to follow through on them. In Canada, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is taking a similar approach.

We applaud all efforts to improve forestry. But when we buy or sell lumber, we look first for the FSC label. So far, it's the only guarantee that wood came from a well-managed forest.

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