Raul’s Blog

I ran across a disclaimer from an online teak reseller last week. It got me thinking about teak and the tree farms it comes from. The disclaimer highlights some disadvantages of owning plantation-grown teak products. Keep in mind, this is marketing copy to entice you to buy Teak furniture!

All new teak wood will undergo a process where the natural oils of the wood rise to the surface. This process is natural and cannot be prevented. It allows dirt and residue to stick to the oil on the surface of the wood. The furniture should be cleaned by scrubbing the surface with a non-abrasive brush and using a solution of mild detergent and water. Rinse the furniture well and let it dry in the sun. All of the finishes that we offer require this general maintenance. Additional maintenance requirements for specific finishes … are described below.

Excerpted from: GO_CareAndMaintenance.pdf (PDF)

Teak is a good quality outdoor wood despite the maintenance issues mentioned above. Forever Redwood is not a fan of teak because of how the teak is grown. The teak tree farmers sing a green song and have the muscle to broadcast this message wide. But, I have visited teak tree farms in Central America. If you visited them, you’d see why we are not fans….

Teak has big companies behind it. Even Martha Stewart came out in May 2010 lauding Teak as her outdoor wood of choice. But, although it is “sustainable” and it does take pressure off the native forests somewhat, there are a few hidden “uglies” no one mentions.

The Teak industry does not mention what existed on most lands before they became tree farms. The reason is because these monoculture teak tree farms are growing where once biologically diverse forestlands existed.

Ouch. Once you understand this and verify it, the green credentials kind of have a large hole in them, don’t you think?  It matters little if the tree farm is sustainable, if it’s not natural or diverse and the tree species come from another continent.

To be fair to the tree farmers, some of the native forests were cleared decades ago and some a couple centuries back. But, in too many cases, recently cut native forestlands are also being converted to tree farms.

Yes, we at Forever Redwood are tree huggers. But, not just any fast growing non-native tree will do (Teak is native to Asia). The climate situation worldwide cries out for a restoration of the many tree species that are native to each area.

Native forests exist because they’ve adapted over thousands of years to the local conditions. They create habitat, replenish aquifers, and do hundreds of other beneficial things. Fast growing money crops that grow in straight lines are not adapted to local climates and will cause problems long-term, from soil imbalances to insect infestations, and they can not be adapted for local wildlife to use as habitat.

Don’t take my word for it. Look into it yourself. It’s green marketing, my friends.

Since most of us don’t have the time to look into things, if it looks green we take it on its word. Look closely and you’ll see the not so pretty truth.

Teak tree farms are profitable because they grow quickly on cheap lands with cheap labor. On the other hand, doing forestry right takes a lot of time and money. Here at Forever Redwood, we’ll keep restoring native forestlands instead and we very much appreciate your support.

Thank you for letting me rant a bit. It keeps me sane.

We hear this question often.  Its a great question and an interesting story.

Teak is now the most widely used outdoor wood in the U.S. with a well deserved reputation for durability in any outdoor weather. It’s an excellent choice for outdoor furniture or structures if you want it to last.

Teak sold in the U.S. is almost exclusively plantation grown in Central and South America. These plantations grow teak in rows and harvest in 20 to 40 year rotations in most cases. The highest quality teak plantations have 60 to 80 year rotations, but they are a very small minority. Teak is marketed as a “sustainably harvested” alternative to exotic woods taken from rain forests. The teak industry is large and spends millions annually to market this environmental angle. It’s part truth, part fiction.

The truth is teak does take pressure off the native forests as a source of good quality wood. The fiction is a significant percentage of these plantations are grown on lands that were once forests. And, teak tree farms are not native to the Americas. They replace native biologically diverse lands with monoculture that provides minimal habitat for any type of wildlife.

So, it’s a mixed bag with the teak.  Better than logging the Amazon, but not ideal.

What about Redwood?  Well, Redwood was the outdoor wood of choice in the U.S. for most of the 20th century. Like teak, it is a beautiful wood with an excellent reputation for outdoor durability. It was available nationwide and used for anything outdoors until the early 1990’s. But, the Redwoods were overlogged and in 1990’s lumber production collapsed to 1/3rd the levels of prior decades. Redwood mostly disappeared from the east coast and central states.

Today, Redwood is available mostly in California and some other western states. The overall quality has dropped because the average size of trees being harvested is smaller than in prior decades.

In 1995, Old-Growth Again purchased and began to restore its Redwood forestland. We offer Redwood in 3 grades to distinguish it from the what is on the market today. Redwood, our least expensive grade, has a 12-year decay warranty and is comparable to what is mostly available on the market. Our Mature Redwood, our most popular grade, has a 20-year decay warranty and is comparable in durability to the highest grades of teak. And, our highest grade, the reclaimed Old-Growth Redwood, has a 30-year decay warranty. It exceeds the climate durability of any plantation grown teak.

It takes centuries of slow growth to make lumber that is almost decay proof.  Only a natural forest can do that. We don’t harvest old-growth Redwood. Luckily many logs were left on the forest floor in the early to mid 1900’s to keep our furniture shop busy for many years. Yes, the logs sat on the forest floor for 50 to 100 years and are still in excellent shape!

Case closed: If you want the longest lasting wood available - go with Old-Growth Redwood.  If you want to help restore native, biologically diverse forests and save money, have your outdoor furniture made from Redwood or Mature Redwood.

To read more about our forestry practices, please go to:

http://www.oldgrowthagain.org/sustainable.html

To read more about our three grades of Redwood, please go to:

http://www.oldgrowthagain.org/wood.html

As always, comments and questions are welcomed.  Thank you for your continuing support.