Once a consumer has decided to outfit their home or workspace with teak flooring and possibly teak furniture to match, the question of which company to buy from becomes important. Most consumers are well aware of the potentially negative environmental impact that purchasing from the wrong organization might have. For most environmentally aware consumers choosing the right company to buy from means not supporting those that engage in business practices such as harvesting from old growth teak forests.
So who can you trust for sustainable teak? That question has a few facets that need to be properly defined and explored in order to come to a reasonable answer.
The first definition that needs to be made clear is that of sustainable teak. While some may read the phrase as a measure of product durability, the term actually refers to teak harvested from plantation grown teak forests instead of the rapidly disappearing old growth teak forests. In order for any manufacturer of teak products to meet this fundamental requirement they must procure their teak exclusively from sustainable teak plantations. Many larger manufacturers have their own plantations or at least significant investment in external plantations.
To find out more about the company it may be a good idea to visit their web site. Larger companies are often looking for investors and may even have a prospectus available that could, if carefully read, give an indication of how each company procures their teak. Failing that, try being explicit: simply ask a company representative. No matter how one ultimately gets their information don't take it at face value; there are ways to investigate the validity of their claims.
One way to test whether or not the plantation itself is operating on the level is to check with the Forestry Stewardship Council, or FSC for short. Their web site, www.fsc.org, has a wealth of certification information as well as an easy search feature to look up the credentials of any particular organization claiming they operate an FSC certified plantation.
There are also independent organizations such as GÆIA that monitor investments from an environmental perspective. Such organizations can be an ethical and informative gold mine for those seeking to validate claims made by vendors.
No less of an ethical concern is how the employees of the plantation and manufacturer are treated. Work conditions may border on intolerable while compensation may be low. Another unsettling problem along these lines is that in many developing and third world countries young children constitute a significant portion of the labor force.
After all, saving the trees is important but saving the people is important too right? The very essence of sustainability is that nothing is permanently reduced, not the teak forests or the communities that harvest and manufacture products from the forests.
It is important to choose a plantation where the teak trees are allowed to mature as long as possible. Some plantations such as Floresteca in Brazil periodically engage in 'thinning' their forests. This involves carefully selection which trees will be harvested to ensure that the forest can achieve maximum growth. If teak trees are not allowed to reach their maximum growth, they may not necessarily make the most durable products. Understanding the harvest cycle is an important aspect to choosing which plantation one wants their teak harvested from.
Perhaps the best place to look for these vendors might be in the Americas. Since all forms of teak trees found in the Americas were brought there from their native Asia, there aren’t any naturally occurring teak forests. This in turn means that unscrupulous raiders cannot cut down old growth teak trees in the middle of the night and turn around and sell them to nearby factories the next morning. The teak trees in the Americas are almost all grown in plantations set up in an effort to supply a sustainable global market for teak, though it may still be worth looking into their labor practices before deciding which vendor to select.
So the way to choose a sustainable teak supplier involves a little homework. Knowing the right questions to ask and the proper things to look for will certainly help one come to the best conclusion possible. Always remember to keep a lookout for vendors with FSC certifications. Keep in mind that these facts may change from time to time so just because a company appears to be operating above board today in any way imply that the same will always be true. Staying informed is the best way to not make oneself party to unethical ecological acts.