Growing With the Grain: Sustainable Wood Choices for Your Home

Growing With the Grain: Sustainable Wood Choices for Your Home
[note: this is an article from GreenBride. I'm not sure I agree with all these choices - especially because of the import footprint and labour concerns - m]
Wood is a prized material for home goods, furniture and décor because it is versatile, durable and gorgeous. Finely crafted wooded pieces can be handed down through generations, and are full of natural irregularities that enhance their finishes. Like all natural resources, timber supplies have been stretched thin, and it is more important than ever to support sustainably harvested and renewable sources. Luckily, there are many to choose from! Here are some stunning, eco-friendly choices options to consider:

Mango
The mango tree bears fruit for about 40 years, and is then cut down by farmers to make room for new seedlings. Many times, local artisans use the wood of these felled trees to carve one-of-a-kind pieces.
Mango wood has a diverse range of color in its grains, revealed best by carving and cutting pieces by hand. And, because mango is the fastest growing hard wood used for furniture production, it is often less costly than other options. The sale of these goods supports the local economies they come from and the sustainable production of the mango fruit.
Acacia
The acacia tree, native to Asia, is prized for its rich brown and gold lumber. Local artisans used the wood of the acacia trees to hand carve unique products, as it also has a diverse range of colors in its grains. The acacia family provides a fast-growing renewable wood source.  
Teak

So often logging practices are incredibly harmful to the local ecology, disrupting and loosening soil, altering flooding patterns and decreasing diversity of habitat. However, as the demand for teak wood rises, so does the occurance of sustainably managed plantation teak. The teak wood used in manufacturing often becomes available as a result of the thinning process necessary to maintain the health of the teak plantation. The use of reclaimed wood decreases the pressure on virgin forests.

Often times, tree stumps are left behind by logging operations, the removal of which allows faster re-growth of newly planted seedlings. This provides another source of reclaimed wood that can be transformed into unique pieces. Root wood items showcase the wild grain patterns and natural shapes of their root stock.

Forest Stewardship Council Certified
Though some varieties of trees are naturally more renewable than others, any forest can be managed sustainably to produce lumber in an environmentally responsible way. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world's forests. FSC certified products assure customers that they come from forests that meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations.