The fact that our precious environment is under enormous pressure is certainly no secret. In fact, in recent times it can seem like we hear more and more reports of situations where humans are, yet again, ruining this beautiful planet that we get to call home.

According to a recent data released by the University of Maryland and also published on the global forest watch, in year 2017 our planet Earth lost approximately 15.8 million hectares of tree cover from its soil.

That is proportionate to the size of Bangladesh or simply put that’s equal to losing 40 football fields of trees every single minute for the whole year. Now you might be able to recognize the adversity of deforestation.

Some serious impacts of deforestation:

1. Soil erosion.
2. Increase in greenhouse gases leading to several other serious environmental issues.
3. Loss of natural habitat.

Isn’t there any way to prevent this from happening?

Of course, there are plenty of small ways, as well as many big ways, that we can each have a share in either giving our home planet a helping hand in sustaining itself or doing the exact opposite. Our high-end furniture company is dedicated to doing the former and on as big a scale as possible. In fact, we only use sustainable woods for all of the pieces of furniture that we create. Allow us to tell you a little more about the woods we use and why sustainable hardwoods really should be the only choice anyone makes.

We Source Most Of Our Wood From Indonesia – But Why?

Most of the wood that our company source for our furniture comes from Indonesia and for very good reasons. The forests in Indonesia are the second largest natural tropical forests in the world, in fact over half of Indonesia’s land area is covered by forests. However, illegal logging became a serious issue. Hence the government in Indonesia, working along with various bodies and organizations, is working hard to encourage timber trade in sustainable sources. One way this is done is through forest certification.

Several laws in Indonesia also work to protect forested areas. For example, in September 2013 Indonesia was the first Asian country to sign a voluntary partnership agreement with the EU. This agreement had the goal of improving forest governance to ensure that all timber products which were exported to the EU were legally sourced.

Another positive enactment happened in November 2016 when Indonesia was able to issue FLEGT licenses to verified legal timber products which are exported, in fact, Indonesia was the first country to use this license system.

Advantages Of Using Legally Harvested Wood

The year 1990 saw the issue of deforestation being viewed as a global problem. Since then many steps have been taken to attempt to address the issue and ultimately help our planet to sustain itself. This means that when a company is sourcing wood, for example, to make furniture, it is now easier for them to make a selection which they know comes from legally harvested wood. What advantages does this choice bring?

By choosing sustainable woods many environmental benefits are automatically generated, For instance, such wood does not contribute to deforestation, the risk of forest fires, the loss of biodiversity and the list goes on and on. In other words, every time a company chooses a source which is confirmed to be legally harvested wood they are making a significant contribution to protecting our earth.

As well as this very worthwhile advantage from an environmental viewpoint, legally sourced wood also has many benefits to the products made. Such wood has been fully certified and likely has undergone various checks, hence when it reaches the buyer it will be exactly what was planned for and have the qualities needed to create the products it had been sourced for.

Disadvantages Of Using Illegally Harvested Wood

Law-abiding forest enterprises want to do what is right. Often they are passionate about protecting our precious environment and dedicated to carrying out all of their procedures in a legitimate manner. However, one major obstacle stands in their way; the existence of illegal wood harvesting. Often closely connected to organized crime and corruption, illegal logging throws a proverbial spanner in the attempts of law-abiding forest enterprises to stay in business. Hence every time someone chooses illegal wood harvesting over legal, they are, in effect, supporting a process which is often harming our environment, encouraging crime and potentially putting legal businesses out of business.

Illegal wood harvesting also has an impact on biodiversity, as well as playing a role in deforestation, forest fires and harm to wildlife. It is little wonder then that we are dedicated to one simple choice; the use of sustainable woods for all of our furniture!

The Bottom Line

Certainly, we should all be concerned about our precious environment and be taking any steps that we possibly can to protect it and support it, after all, if we don’t support our home planet, can we really expect it to support our life? So, we all must come together and take all appropriate steps to preserve the beauty of this land for our new generations.

As we have clearly seen, there are many advantages that come with choosing legally harvested wood and many disadvantages that come with opting for illegally harvested wood. Indeed, deforestation, biodiversity, forest fires and the protection of wildlife are just a few of the factors which are impacted depending on the choices we make.

We are dedicated to producing high-end furniture and specialize in live end products, however, we never want to do so at the risk of negative impacts on our environment. That is why we source most of our wood from Indonesia and ensure that each and every piece of furniture that we create has been produced using sustainable hardwoods. For you, as our dear client, this means that not only do you get to have a wonderful piece of finely crafted furniture for your home but every time you use it you will know that you made a choice that worked to help our planet rather than harm it; indeed, a benefit that surely outshines any other!