Sustainability

ECO-FRIENDLY FURNITURE

From using highly renewable woods like Moso Bamboo, to manufactured wood products as an alternative to new wood (and trees being cut down), sustainability is on our mind.

Bamboo is an ecologically friendly and beautiful choice for furnishings. Since Bamboo is a grass, Bamboo grows and matures much quicker than a tree.

Within five years of sprouting, the walls of the culms (the Bamboo stalks) will have thickened and hardened and will be ready for harvest. That means every year 15 to 20 percent of the forest can be harvested without clear cutting. Compare that to a hardwood forest and you will see that Bamboo is a very productive and sustainable plant material for making furniture. Unlike quick growing pine (aka "trash pine") trees that many timber companies have planted in place of native trees and forest, and take at least 25 years to grow large enough to harvest for pulp or cheap framing lumber, Bamboo grows quickly and has fine building qualities. Bamboo is also very hard--harder than rock maple, which is one of the hardest of North American trees. Using Bamboo means less dings and dents and a more durable product. Since the very straight culm is split and not sawn, there are no curls in the grain, which means Bamboo is much less likely to break.

These Bamboo Furnishings have a beautiful exotic look and come in a rich golden amber color due to their carbonized finish. Bamboo boards are constructed by laminating strips of Bamboo together in order to create strong dimensional lumber for building fine furniture. This is a very effective way to construct Bamboo lumber. However please note, although rare, small cracks may sometimes be present and are considered normal in laminated Bamboo boards. These cracks, if present, will not be over 1/32” in width and will not affect the structural integrity of the furniture. New Bamboo may have a slightly grassy scent which should dissipate over time.

ENGINEERED COMPOSITE WOOD

Engineered Composite Wood includes a range of derivative wood products which are manufactured by binding together the strands, particles and fibers of wood, together with adhesives, to form composite wood panels. This material is engineered to precise design specifications which are tested to meet national and international standards.

Engineered wood panels are made from the same hardwoods and softwoods used to manufacture lumber. Recycled sawmill scraps and other wood waste is used for engineered wood composed of wood particles or fibers, and thin layers of whole ash and oak logs are used to produce the surface veneers. Alternatively, it is also possible to manufacture similar engineered cellulosic products from other lignin-containing materials such as rye straw, wheat straw, rice straw, hemp stalks, or sugar cane residue, in which case they contain no actual wood but rather vegetable fibers.

Engineered composite wood products are used in a variety of ways, often in applications similar to solid wood products. Engineered wood products may be preferred over solid wood in some applications due to certain comparative advantages:

  • Because engineered wood is man-made, it can be designed to meet application-specific performance requirements.
  • Large panels of engineered wood may be manufactured from fibers from small diameter trees.
  • Small pieces of wood, and wood that has defects, can be used in many engineered wood products, especially in medium-density fiber based boards.
  • Engineered wood products are often stronger and less prone to humidity-induced warping than equivalent solid woods, although most particle and fiber-based boards readily soak up water unless they are treated with sealant or paint.

MEDIUM-DENSITY FIBERBOARD

Medium-density fiberboard (MDF or MDFB) is an engineered wood composite product formed by breaking down softwood into wood fibers, often in a defibrator, combining it with wax and resin, and forming panels by applying high temperature and pressure. It is a building material similar in application to plywood but made up of separated fibers, not wood veneers. It is denser than normal particle board.

Large-scale production of MDF began in the 1980s. Its name derives from the distinction in densities of fiberboard. MDF typically has a density of 600-800 kg/m3, in contrast to particle board (160-450 kg/m3) and to high-density fiberboard (500-1450 kg/m3). Similar manufacturing processes are used in making all types of fiberboard.

MDF is also known as Customwood or Craftwood.