Ask About the Origin of your Hardwood Flooring! The green maple leaf symbol is our way of identifying a product that is made using lumber harvested in North America - using environmentally sound practices. By not being familiar with the harvesting practices of overseas hardwood suppliers, you may be unwittingly contributing to one of the greatest environmental disasters of our time. That’s why it’s more important than ever to purchase only wood products that you know have been legally and responsibly harvested. Here are some examples of why a responsible and informed choice is so important: The Amazon rainforest is currently disappearing at a rate of approx. 20,000 square miles each year – nearly double the rate of disappearance just a decade ago, in spite of international efforts to control deforestation. – Illegal-Logging.info website, US Govt Report At least half (50%) of all logging activities in particularly vulnerable regions – the Amazon Basin, Central Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Rim, and the Russian Federation – is illegal. As much as 80% of logging done in the Amazon Basin may not be compliant with government controls. More than 70% of Indonesia’s logging is done illegally, and the percentage of illegal logging in Cambodia is approaching 90%. – PLACE – The Anderson Floorstyle Journal 2005 The largest importer of foreign logs from vulnerable countries is China, where they are used for hardwood flooring, furniture, and other wood products. It is estimated that the volume of logs imported by China is approaching 200 million cubic metres annually. Currently there are few if any controls put on the importation of this material, and in fact, China has put the responsibility on the exporting countries to provide documentation and policing of this resource. –China’s Wood Market, Trade, and the Environment, WWF Report 2004, -Impacts of China on the Global Value Supply Chain: The Wood Sector, Dr David Cohen 2005; EIA Telepak 2005 – Stemming the Tide: Halting the Trade in Stolen Timber in Asia In North America, efforts by responsible companies have actually increased the number of North America’s forested acres by 20% to approx. 600 million, while at the same time, increasing per acre productivity. In the past decade in the United States, tree plantings have averaged nearly 4.5 million per day. That is 20% higher than daily losses from harvesting, insects, fire, and disease combined! - Illegal-Logging.info, from State of the World’s Forests 2001, UN FAO. Use your consumer spending dollar to support companies who do business in an environmentally responsible fashion! A few other points to ponder…. Transporting wood species from overseas, some of which actually grow right here in North America, dramatically increases the amount of greenhouse gas being deposited into our atmosphere. These gases are significantly contributing to global warming. The dramatic increase in ocean traffic bringing these products to North America is resulting in the degradation and pollution of our oceans, and adversely affecting the fish and aquatic species that live there. The importation of wood products from overseas countries has resulted in exotic pests arriving on our shores. The most recent forest pest, the Emerald Ash Borer, which likely arrived in shipping crates from China, has already destroyed more than 8 million white ash trees in Michigan and Ontario. In some areas it could destroy up to 1/3 of the forest canopy. Unmanaged cutting of wood species in Asian countries in recent years has resulted in an increase in landslides, river siltation, air pollution from forest fires, and loss of wildlife habitat in those regions. Many wood products from overseas sources may be originating in countries whose record of Human Rights abuses is well documented. Additionally, employee health and safety guidelines in many of these districts are well below North American standards. Some countries may be using the proceeds of irresponsible logging to fund oppression of their citizens, and finance questionable military objectives and practices. Breezewood Forest Products, located in Tillsonburg Ontario, is one of the few Canadian hardwood flooring manufacturers that harvest most of their own timber. They do so under the strict guidelines of local “County Tree ByLaws”, and have not had an infraction in over 30 years of harvesting.