Explore and Support Sustainable Forestry
Trees, the great providers, give us shelter, shade, building materials, food, paper, clothing, medicines, chemicals, toothpaste, and more.
The most fantastically versatile harvest-able resource on the planet covers approximately thirty percent of land area, but it once covered much more.
In 1997, the World Resources Institute recorded that only 20% of the world's original forests remained in large intact tracts of undisturbed forest.
We need trees, not only for their important role in our ecosystem, but also for the 5000+ essential products they provide.
As stewards of the Earth, sustainable forestry is an essential part of our efforts to preserve the world in which we live.
We must always promote the use of our forests in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfill, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national, and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems.
This is the definition of sustainable forest management, and below are some Dos and Don'ts of proper stewardship for both consumers and manufacturers.
Do preserve biodiversity.
Some controversial forestry/logging practices involve most or all trees in an area being uniformly cut down.
It is used by foresters to contrive certain types of forest ecosystems to promote select species that require an abundance of sunlight or grow in large, even-age stands for later harvest.
Planning plots of a single type of tree ruins the natural ecosystem and is basically synonymous with deforestation, turning a natural forest into a man-made farm.
Don't "Slash-and-Burn.
" Similar in devastation to clearcutting, this is most prevalent in tropical and subtropical forests in overpopulated regions in underdeveloped countries.
Slash-and-burn entails the removal of all stems in a particular area.
This is a form of deforestation; after it has been completely cleared, the land is put to other uses.
Slash and burn techniques are typically used by civilians in search of land for residential and agricultural purposes.
The forest is first clear cut, and all the remaining material is burned.
Do supplement fresh-cut materials with recycled fibers.
From 2004 to 2009, GreenPeace led the "Kleercut" campaign against Kimberly-Clark, providers of Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Poise and many other paper-based products.
The conclusion of this campaign ensured that 100 per cent of the fibers used in KC's products would be from environmentally responsible sources.
Part of this agreement promotes the inclusion of pre-used fibers in its products and packaging.
KC still has a way to go in terms of protecting the environment, but they are at least no longer clearcutting the Boreal Forest.
Don't support companies that still practice unsustainable logging and forest management! Do your research.
You can usually find indicative information on a provider's sustainability on their website.
Look for FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certification.
https://us.
fsc.
org/ Do buy from known retailers of fully sustainable products, like ProTeak, fully sustainable and environmentally conscious providers of teakwood products.
http://www.
proteak.
com/ Above all, stay informed.
We can be confident that we are doing everything we can as consumers when we take the time to learn about our purchase.
Together, stewards of the Earth, we can make a difference!
The most fantastically versatile harvest-able resource on the planet covers approximately thirty percent of land area, but it once covered much more.
In 1997, the World Resources Institute recorded that only 20% of the world's original forests remained in large intact tracts of undisturbed forest.
We need trees, not only for their important role in our ecosystem, but also for the 5000+ essential products they provide.
As stewards of the Earth, sustainable forestry is an essential part of our efforts to preserve the world in which we live.
We must always promote the use of our forests in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfill, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national, and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems.
This is the definition of sustainable forest management, and below are some Dos and Don'ts of proper stewardship for both consumers and manufacturers.
Do preserve biodiversity.
Some controversial forestry/logging practices involve most or all trees in an area being uniformly cut down.
It is used by foresters to contrive certain types of forest ecosystems to promote select species that require an abundance of sunlight or grow in large, even-age stands for later harvest.
Planning plots of a single type of tree ruins the natural ecosystem and is basically synonymous with deforestation, turning a natural forest into a man-made farm.
Don't "Slash-and-Burn.
" Similar in devastation to clearcutting, this is most prevalent in tropical and subtropical forests in overpopulated regions in underdeveloped countries.
Slash-and-burn entails the removal of all stems in a particular area.
This is a form of deforestation; after it has been completely cleared, the land is put to other uses.
Slash and burn techniques are typically used by civilians in search of land for residential and agricultural purposes.
The forest is first clear cut, and all the remaining material is burned.
Do supplement fresh-cut materials with recycled fibers.
From 2004 to 2009, GreenPeace led the "Kleercut" campaign against Kimberly-Clark, providers of Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Poise and many other paper-based products.
The conclusion of this campaign ensured that 100 per cent of the fibers used in KC's products would be from environmentally responsible sources.
Part of this agreement promotes the inclusion of pre-used fibers in its products and packaging.
KC still has a way to go in terms of protecting the environment, but they are at least no longer clearcutting the Boreal Forest.
Don't support companies that still practice unsustainable logging and forest management! Do your research.
You can usually find indicative information on a provider's sustainability on their website.
Look for FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certification.
https://us.
fsc.
org/ Do buy from known retailers of fully sustainable products, like ProTeak, fully sustainable and environmentally conscious providers of teakwood products.
http://www.
proteak.
com/ Above all, stay informed.
We can be confident that we are doing everything we can as consumers when we take the time to learn about our purchase.
Together, stewards of the Earth, we can make a difference!
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