Why Wood Is The Greenest Furniture Choice

In the 21st Century, we face an onslaught of bad news from around the world when it comes to the environment.

 

Despite knowing more about the sources of our environmental woes than ever before, it often feels like we just can’t get ahead of the curve.

 

That’s one reason we are so excited about solid hardwood furniture. Wood is good, as they say, because it is an incredible green solution for residence hall furniture.

 

There are a lot of reasons to be excited about wood, so let’s break it down and examine why wood is the most sustainable furniture material and why you should choose solid wood furniture for your furniture needs.

 

1. Wood Is Renewable
First of all, wood is the most environmentally friendly raw material. It’s renewable. In fact, wood is the only building material made from sun, rain, and carbon from the air. It’s infinitely replenishable and renewable. That’s amazing when you think about it.

 

Wood is a raw material that grows and replenishes itself every year. A lot of folks wonder if it’s environmental to cut down trees. Luckily, with selective harvesting–in contrast to clearcutting–it’s not a problem. In fact, it’s great for forest health.

 

And trees grow everywhere. Currently, according to this short video from reThink Wood, the rate of US reforestation and tree growth outstrips harvesting by 40%.

 

In fact, one media source claims that, “In the United States, deforestation has been more than offset by reforestation between 1990 and 2010. The nation added 7,687,000 hectares (18,995,000 acres) of forested land during that period.”

 

In Europe forests are managed to support manufacturing. They’re actually expanding at the rate of 5,000 sq kilometers/year. When trees are selectively harvested, new trees are planted in their place. In fact, from 1990-2005, Europe regrew forests the size of Greece.

 

2. Wood Is Good For The Climate

Wood products are healthy for our climate and prevent climate change. First, trees absorb carbon throughout their life. They take it out of atmosphere and store it in their trunks as they grow. But it doesn’t end there.

 

When trees are turned into wood products they continue to store that carbon. By using solid hardwood furniture, we are preventing climate change and the greenhouse effect.

 

But it doesn’t stop there. Eventually, we can reclaim the solar energy stored in wood at the end of the product life cycle by burning wood for energy. Re-using wood for energy like this is a great way to displace dirty, non-renewable, and carbon-emitting energy sources like coal, oil, and natural gas.

 

Compared to oil, coal and natural gas, burning wood creates clean energy and no waste.

 

3. Wood Means Zero Waste
Here’s another reason why wood is so good from a sustainability perspective. Because of improvements in technology over the last few decades, wood manufacturing has become a zero waste industry. What does that mean?

 

Bi-products from every stage of the production process can be reused and repurposed. When wood is harvested, a percentage of it is processed into lumber, some of it is converted into other wood products, and still more of it is recovered for energy production. But none of it goes to waste.


4. Wood Is Durable And Lasts A Long Time
Relative to its weight, wood is the strongest building material on the planet. It’s extremely resilient and requires little maintenance (just think about trees!).

 

Unlike plastic laminate, wood laminate, and other engineered woods, wood can have multiple lifetimes through refinishing.

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