Case goods makers hear pitch on using sustainable woods
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, October 3, 2005
High Point — The Rainforest Alliance continues to seek partners in the furniture industry as part of its effort to protect forests for future generations.
But officials agree it will take considerable efforts to make that pitch to the most important group of all — consumers.
About 35 mostly high-end furniture makers and hardwood suppliers gathered at case good manufacturer South Cone Tradings's showroom here last month to hear a presentation on sustainable woods. The discussion was led by the Rainforest Alliance, a group that promotes ecologically friendly timber harvesting through its SmartWood program.
Among the participating companies were South Cone, E.J. Victor, Drexel Heritage, Robert Bergelin Co., Klaussner, Mitchell Gold and William Alan. Most were there to learn more about sustainable woods and how to incorporate them into their raw materials mix.
South Cone has been using sustainable woods for about five years, said President Gerry Cooklin. Initially, the process involved a lot of education, investigation and testing of various tropical woods.
The process, he said, hasn't been easy. Some tropical woods, for example, just haven't worked out in its products. Certification of woods as sustainable also has represented some added costs that haven't yet yielded desired results.
But Cooklin believes in the concept and wants to stick with it over the long term.
"I think it's something that is extremely important," he told the manufacturers. "The forests of the world, and the rainforests, are being devastated quickly."
Chris Bergelin, CEO of Robert Bergelin Co., said he began using sustainable woods about five years ago in partnership with a key supplier. Today, 98% of the wood in its case goods comes from sustainable forests.
While it was a challenge building up to that level, Bergelin said the company eliminated a lot of paperwork and inventory tracking once it neared 100%.
But he believes the success of the sustainable wood program will require more education of consumers, especially as cheap imported furniture floods the market.
"With all this offshoring, the consumer is extremely confused today," he said. "It's really a difficult time right now to expect consumers to grasp on to this when they are wondering what they should pay for furniture."
South Cone's Cooklin said sustainable woods should be marketed much like companies sell "organic" foods.
"Our challenge is to tell the consumer that organic furniture equals FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified," he said. "That's the message and we've been hammering at it for five years."
Rainforest officials said that by touting sustainable woods, domestic manufacturers can set themselves apart from foreign competitors and improve their public image.
