Remember the R's...

...reduce wood waste, live "sustainably" and help conserve local as well as global forests.

The large piece of Honduran Mahogany, now commercially extinct, pictured to the right, is a center leaf from a gate-leg drop-leaf table, which I found in the Tullamore town dump in 1986. Someone had used it as a mortar board. I cleaned off some of the mortar and restored a section to let you see how beautiful the wood still is. The wasteful mentality behind this piece of mahogany became the driving force behind the establishment of Just Forests in 1989 and remains one of the strategic reasons behind our work to this day.
Tom Roche, Founder, Just Forests

Every year in Ireland, thousands of tons of sound, usable, quality timber and wood-based products ends up dumped....doors, windows and furniture are a common sight outside numerous buildings waiting to be disposed of by skip-hire firms.

If we really want to deal with climate change, live ‘sustainably’ and help conserve the world’s forests then this practice must cease. No country can afford this wanton waste of natural resources like wood.

The world’s forests are shrinking rapidly with dire consequences for people, animal and plant life. As the global population is set to reach over 9billion over the next 15 years natural resource security should be top of our agenda.

Last UPDATE: Thursday 9th March, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make sure you have a copy of our KNOW - Your Wood Guide 2011

Wood buying tips for shoppers
Shoppers: how can you make sure you’re choosing good wood?

What’s the issue?
Illegal and unsustainable logging threatens forests and livelihoods in countries like Indonesia and in the Congo Basin. But you shouldn’t simply avoid buying products made from tropical timber – if it’s managed responsibly, timber can provide a sustainable income for communities who can keep the forests healthy for future generations and wildlife. You just need to make sure what you buy has been sourced responsibly.

What should you do?
Look for the forest-friendly FSC logo when you’re choosing wooden furniture, flooring and other forest products like paper and charcoal. It’s the best way to be sure you’re buying a product that’s been harvested and processed legally and with respect for forests, people and wildlife.

Be aware that a retailer might display the FSC logo on their website or in their store, but that doesn’t mean all the forest products they sell are FSC-certified. Ask about the specific product you’re interested in. Where did it come from? Say that you’re concerned about the problem of illegal and unsustainable logging – how do they know it’s come from a forest that is managed responsibly?

If they don’t know where their supplies are from, that means they can’t have checked whether it’s from illegal sources. We’d suggest you shop elsewhere.

Target Groups
Engagement with our target groups is now all the more urgent in light of the NEW European Commission Regulation (October 2010) which makes “the placing” of illegally-logged timber on the European market “an offence”.

Also the focus on T4-Technology Subjects Teachers, Local Authorities, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), the Royal Institute of the Architects in Ireland (RIAI) and the representatives of the Irish Timber Traders Association (ITTA) is highly relevant and is the most strategic focus for our work. Our links with all the above is very important.

What if you can’t find FSC-certified products?
Tell your retailer you want them to stock FSC-certified items. Businesses will listen to their customers.

If you stop buying wood that comes from forests that are badly managed, or even perhaps that has been illegally produced, then the suppliers of this wood will have no choice but to change as well.
FSC certified packaging

Check the FSC database
A company licensed to sell FSC-certified product has a unique Chain of Custody number. You can ask for this number and check it on the FSC International database to see what products it covers.

Check here to see who is FSC-certified in Ireland on the FSC product database. FSC has strict rules on how a company can promote their FSC products and any ambiguous claims should be reported to trademark@fsc.org or you can contact us here at Just Forests.

Do FSC products cost more?
Some suppliers may say that FSC products cost more and that’s why they don’t sell them. Like any product, price does vary according to what you buy, what the wood species is, the quality of the product and where it was made. It’s possible that an FSC product could cost more – but this is not automatically the case.

The skip pictured to the right was outside the new Civic Offices in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath and contained west-African IROKO and IPE Just Forests

Order your copy of our new KNOW Your Wood Guide 2012 to be launched in February 2012 on the FSC product database. FSC has strict rules on how a company can promote their FSC products and any ambiguous claims should be reported to trademark@fsc.org or you can contact us here at Just Forests.

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Tom Roche (trading as) Just Forests Ltd.
Ringfort Workshop, Rathcobican, Rhode, Offaly, Ireland
Phone: +353 (0)86 8049389  |  E-mail: info@tomroche.ie
Company Registration Number: 612423 This website is an education awareness initiative of Just Forests Ltd Copyright © 2024 Tom Roche (trading as) Just Forests Ltd.