Everyone is at least trying to go green these days, and perhaps no industry is making more progress than the lumber and carpentry industry. Deforestation is responsible in part for many of the planets environmental woes and the drive to protect the world’s woodlands has been ongoing for years now.
Spearheading the effort is the Forest Stewardship Council, a global organization that was set up in 1993 to attempt to regulate and determine exactly what "sustainable forestry" is and to encourage carpenters, contractors and lumber suppliers to sell and utilize timber that has been grown and harvested in a manner approved of and certified by the FSC.
An increasing number of carpentry firms across the country are proudly trumpeting the fact that the lumber used in their projects is FSC certified in an effort to attract the consumer who wants their carpentry or remodeling project to be as environmentally friendly as it is attractive and functional. The big question though is what does FSC certification really mean?
To acquire FSC certification, a landowner must open up his forests to a team of inspectors who assess everything from the way in which the trees are planted and cultivated to the methods of harvesting and transportation to retailers and wholesalers. The standards vary according to the region of the world in which the lands are located and it can take months to obtain certification, a process that is repeated every five years to ensure that certified landowners are maintaining the standards to which the FSC holds them.
As the lumber makes its way to the marketplace it is tracked every step of the way so that all timber sold with a FSC certified designation is verifiable to the source. For a wholesaler to market their lumber as FSC certified they must be able to provide the consumer with proof of the lumber’s journey from a sustainable forest in writing at their request.
According to the Forest Stewardship Council of the United States there are currently 3,250 companies whose sell or work with products that are FSC certified and are allowed to use the FSC logo in their promotional materials. These companies range from large wholesale lumber liquidators to individual carpenters who work in the custom woodworking industry.
If you are sourcing the lumber to be used in your remodeling project yourself rather than having your chosen carpenter acquire it for you, the good news is that both of the big national home improvement super chains do now carry FSC certified lumber in most of their stores. In order to find it you may have to ask for the assistance of a lumber department supervisor though as our experience has been that many clerks greet the request for FSC certified lumber with a bemused shrug.
As far as cost goes you can expect to pay a little more if you want to use FSC certified lumber as a part of your project, but the prices are coming down as more people learn about this relatively simple way to make their remodeling efforts a little more environmentally friendly.
