Sunday

Sustainable Asian Furniture



To get the best quality Asian furniture its important to know how its made and what its made of. Poorly made furniture constructed of particle board and screws simply wont last and can look cheap. It is best to pick furniture that is made of real wood and uses mortise and tenon joinery for not only durability but style as well. But alas, like all good things, purchasing Asian furniture made from real wood has it draw backs too. Many Asian forests have been over harvested and destroyed to be used as fuel, building materials and more.

The good news is that the dramatic depletion in tree populations throughout Asia has not gone ignored. Some excellent organizations such as Rainforest-Alliance.org have been working to protect forests in Asia as well as world wide. Although illegal logging is still wide spread, many Asian countries have cut down on illegal harvesting through stiffer timber industry regulations as well as the creation of tree plantations to accommodate the continued need for wood

You can help the efforts by purchasing Asian furniture (and all wood products for that matter) from environmentally friendly furniture retailers and manufacturers. Make sure that the furniture you select is either made from plantation grown or reclaimed wood rather than wood from rainforests. By looking into where the wood comes from in the furniture your purchase you will not only be helping out Earth but will also be ensuring that the furniture your buying is top quality!

High quality furniture manufacturers are more likely to be using sustainable materials such as plantation grown wood or reclaimed wood. Cheap furniture makers often use particle board or illegally harvested wood, both of which are less expensive materials. Reclaimed wood in particular makes for very high quality furniture pieces because most wood becomes denser as it ages. Reclaimed wood comes from old warehouse, buildings, railways, bridges and more. Plus reclaimed wood has that antique appeal that many Asian furniture shoppers love!



So when your making you Asian furniture purchases do yourself and you planet a favor and only purchase pieces made from sustainable materials. You can find some beautiful Asian furniture pieces made from reclaimed teak furniture at www.tansu.net .


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