Outdoor Eco-friendly
What is good wood for outdoor
furniture?
 Spring Break. Once
upon a time,
that meant nursing a hangover, that special type of hangover you can
only get
in San Felipe, or some other cheap, bikini-friendly destination. This
year on
my day off, I toured three (awesome) pre-school boys as part of a
vacation care
co-op with some other parents. I thought a lot about my
previous vacations: warm empty waves,
pristine beaches, colorful rainforests and...deforestation.
The World Resources Institute
estimates that only about 22%
of the world's original forest cover remains "intact".
Just as I defaulted to
tropical vacations while thinking
about fun in the sun, the mass outdoor furniture market tends to default
to tropical
hardwoods, endangered tropical hardwoods. Tropical forests in Central
and South
America, Africa and Asia have shrunk from 16 million km2 to about 8-9
million
km2. I'm not saying the inclination doesn't make sense. For example,
nothing compares to
old growth teak for durability in an outdoor environment.
There are farmed crops of
teak and other tropical species,
but as monoculture crops, but they lack the superior outdoor durability
of their ancestors. Or as my SustainableWorks
teacher says. "Ten trees do
not a forest make."
Salvaged or reclaimed tropical
woods are ideal lumber, especially old growth. Plus, it reduces
depletion of valuable resources and keeps
it out of a landfill.
At the very least, find wood
from a
managed forest, like FSC Chichipate. Third party certification
ensures that "managed forest" doesn't mean the CEO of the lumber company
does the managing.
But, I moved past my surf trip fantasies and
thought about places
in the US. Ones that I have yet to see or haven't visited since I was a
kid.
Americans have the best 84.4 million acres of
outdoor vacations on the globe.
Likewise, perfectly suitable
outdoor wood
species can be found domestically. FSC White Oak, salvaged or reclaimed
cedar
and redwood are just a few. (We'll have one of each to show by the next
newsletter.)
As with any outdoor furniture, they need a
proper finish
to protect it. It's like sunscreen for wood. Reapply as needed. In this
case, every couple years.
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