furniture industry and the environment

Page history last edited by brian 1 yr ago

see also:   Clean-tech and environmentally conscious investing

 

 

Everyone knows that the Amazon rainforest is disappearing at an alarming rate. In just one year, the amount of forest lost may be roughly equal to the size of Belgium, a small European country. A vast majority of this destruction is occurring because of slash and burn (clear cutting) of the trees. Farmers are cutting down the trees to make room for soy plantations and cattle ranches, and in the process they cut down everything in sight, sell the woods that are valuable, and then burn the rest to make way for farms. The problem is that trees have a lower economic value than the land for agriculture (in a short sighted sense, who wants to wait 100 years for the new trees to grow?).

 

Sustainable forest management is the process of removing only some of the trees from a forest, and leaving the rest intact. It also involves replanting and managing the forest for a sustainable future. From a lumber business standpoint, it ensures a steady supply of lumber without undermining the natural ability of forest to remain healthy and bountiful over time.

According to many environment and development groups, the best way to save the Amazon is to make it profitable to keep the forests intact, and to remove only some of the trees for economic development. They suggest that we need to find a way to make the trees above the land worth more than the land underneath.

 

From a marketing standpoint, I am proposing that we help to save the Amazon, by supporting the efforts of these companies that are buying the land with the intention of sustainably managing the forests (so they will be here for 100’s of more years to come). My thinking is that many Americans would feel good to know that their furniture came from the sustainable forests (and not the clear-cutted ones). For this good feeling, I think that Americans would pay a little bit more for their furniture, and that would help us to compete against the cheaper Chinese imports (see discussion below).

 

To certify forests as being managed in a sustainable way, there are a number of organizations involved. The most famous and most respected is the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which is a non-profit international organization whose standards are the most rigorous in the world today.

 

The issue is that FSC certified woods are more expensive that the price of non-FSC certified woods.

 

 

Potential solution

We might be able to create a second division (or even a separate company) in Brazil that might be able to get FSC certified, while leaving their existing operations alone. This would mean that we would only need to be FSC certified for the division that is exporting and that they could keep just their Brazilian certification for their internal operations. That way, only the costs for exports would be higher for the more expensive raw materials, and that I would only pay the portion of those costs that went toward producing my products (for the USA).

 

 

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)/Rainforest Alliance Forest Management Certification

For forestry operations worldwide, including large and mid-sized forest managers and groups of small landowners. Our SmartWood program evaluates forestry operations, awarding those that meet the principles and criteria of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) with certification. Forest Management certification is available to all types of landowners, including individuals, corporations, governments, communities and groups of small landowners. Individual companies or groups of companies can apply for certification.

 

 

FSC/Rainforest Alliance Chain-of-Custody (CoC) Certification

Manufacturers: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/forestry/documents/manufacturers.pdf

Distributors: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/forestry/documents/standards.pdf

Group certification: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/forestry/documents/group.pdf

 

For forest-product operations including manufacturers, distributors and retailers that purchase and sell FSC-certified products. CoC certification ensures that the claim of FSC is valid, and is based on credible inventory management systems. Chain-of-Custody (CoC) certification assures consumers and forest product companies that the wood they buy comes from certified forests. CoC certification by our SmartWood program tracks wood from forests and tree plantations certified to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards, from the forest to the point of sale. CoC certification is available for any operation that processes cut wood, such as sawmills, secondary manufacturers, broker/distributors, wholesalers, retailers, printers, paper merchants and other points in the forest products supply chain. If yours is a business involved in the production or delivery of certified products, you must hold a CoC certificate in order to make claims about the FSC content in your products. Certification is available for a wide variety of operations -- please see the standards below.

 

 

FSC/Rainforest Alliance Non-Timber Forest Products Certification

For operations that manage and harvest non-timber forest products.

 

 

Rainforest Alliance Rediscovered Wood Certification

http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/forestry/documents/rediscovered-wood-program-description.pdf

http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/forestry/documents/rediscovered-wood-guidelines-standards.pdf

For operations that purchase and sell reclaimed, recycled and/or salvaged wood products.

Rediscovered Wood Certification. The Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood program evaluates forest product operations that are reclaiming or using reclaimed, recycled and/or salvaged wood materials. Those that meet our standards are awarded certification for Rediscovered Wood. The program is available to mills, secondary manufacturers, brokers/distributors, wholesalers, etc. and addresses certification of products that are not eligible for Forest Stewardship Council certification as recycled or reclaimed.

 

 

Links to Environment Organizations:

http://www.wwf.org/

http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/programs/forestry/smartwood/

Smart guide - list of furniture companies with certification:

http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/forestry/documents/smartguide_furniture.pdf

 

 

Charity organizations focusing on environment:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?keyword_list=amazon&Submit2=GO&bay=search.results

 

 

 

See also

 

 

 

 

 

 

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