‘Green’ Lumber and 'Certification' are not new ideas.

60 years ago, an environmentalist wrote this while sitting in a wooden shack, just up the banks of the Wisconsin River from here….
“Why is it that conservation is so rarely practiced
by those who must extract a living from the land? 
Take forestry as an example:
the forest owner says he will manage his timber
when stumpage values rise high enough,
and when wood substitutes quit underselling him. 
He said this decades ago.
Forest devastation goes on as before. 
If exploitation-lumber and forestry-lumber
were each labeled as such,
would we prefer to buy the conservation product? 
The trouble is that we have developed,
along with our skill in the exploitation of land,
a prodigious skill in false advertising. 
I do not want to be told by advertisers
what is a conservation product. 
The only alternative is consumer-discrimination....”
 The Round River, from the journals of Aldo Leopold  - 1948

So, how do you become a discriminating consumer?
Common Sense, Maybe?

Tests of how ‘Green’ it is….  REALLY?

1. Step back and look at this from a good distance – on a global scale - is this really responsible?  (does the project use way more than it’s share of resources)
2. How complex is it?  Is the machinery used super hi-tech, with a short life span - needing lots of maintenance along the way?  How long does it take to break-even?
3. How efficient is it?  Are the resource inputs high – eliminating a large percentage of the perceived benefits?  (making ethanol from corn grain vs wood chips!)
4. How much manufacturing went into this product – does the finished merchandize look anything like the starting natural resource?  How many chemicals were used to transform and harden the stuff – for example Bamboo and Cork flooring???
5. Does the project involve a lot of travel and shipping?
6. Were the workers paid a fair wage for their work?

‘Green’ wood products. 

1. Does it look like natural wood?
2. If the wood is just the best parts of the best tree in the forest – (wide clear boards or select – perfect - flooring) – no way is it ‘green’!  Sustainable wood products must be representative of all the wood that comes from a harvest.
3. Did the local community benefit from the timber harvest, or just a large corporation?
4. Was the forest owner paid a fair and profitable income for the timber?
5. Manufactured Cork and Bamboo flooring may be ‘Green’ compared to traditional wood flooring that comes from exploitive harvests – but not compared to locally grown and manufactured natural wood flooring.
6. How long will the product last before needing replacement?

How Green is it Really?
Looks Like Natural Wood                     or         Looks very Manufactured
Wood will outlast the building                or         Short product life
Locally Grown                                         or         From other side of the globe
Know the Grower/manager                    or         Source unknown
Locally manufactured                             or         Processed in China, etc.
Simple manufacturing                             or         High Tech processing
Minimal Energy expended                     or         Large amounts of Energy used
From Small Business                              or         From Big Box Store
Money stays in the community              or         Sales benefit big corporation

Here is a new Alternative in the market today…
As forest owners, we harvest up to one tree pre acre per year with precision Arthroscopic Logging techniques – starting with the worst tree first.  A portion of the natural output of the forest is salvaged each year with no pressure from industrial demand.   Logs are carried an average of one half mile to the sawmill.  All usable parts of the tree are utilized for their highest value.  Lumber is dried using solar energy to heat the kilns.  Wood products are manufactured with small, efficient tools in our 100 year old renovated dairy barn.  We haul the products direct to our customers homes as we commute to install the wood ourselves.  We know our wood – satisfaction guaranteed!

If you can find a “Greener” product anywhere on earth – Buy It!

RWOODS2U = From our Forest to Your Home

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