ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, July 28, 1996 TAG: 9607300126
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
THE latest word in home decorating actually is a prefix - "eco." Eco-furniture, eco-design and eco-living and, of course, eco-nomic top the list of design trends for 1996. This massive interest in ecological home environments indicates a growing number of consumers whose purchases reflect their environmental concerns.
Whether avid conservationists or once-in-a-while recyclers, more and more people are expressing genuine concern for the environment by helping to conserve resources where they can. For many, that place is at home. From nontoxic cleaners and reusable lunch bags to Tree Free toilet tissue and "fleece" outerwear made from recycled pop bottles, Earth-friendly products have become an integral part of our everyday lives. Even today's decors are emerging more "green" than ever before.
Ecological decorating not only is environmentally sound, it also produces attractive, high-style home environments incorporating furniture and accessories based on the idea of living in harmony with nature. Among the most notable environmental advancements is the relatively recent emergence of furnishings and cabinetry made with a product called "engineered wood."
"Due to increased awareness of ecological concerns and the escalating cost of wood, the furniture and cabinet industries have taken a proactive position on extending timber resources," said Kevin Sauder, chairman of the Particleboard/Medium Density Fiberboard Institute. "Today's furniture and cabinet manufacturers increasingly are using what we call 'engineered wood,' made from residual lumber, to fashion quality home furnishings and cabinetry while also extending our planet's wood supply."
Engineered wood is real wood in an advanced form. Made from the wood remaining after other solid-wood products have been created, engineered wood is the result of decades of research and development aimed at designing a structurally superior wood product for use in furniture and cabinets.
Sometimes confused with the kind of particleboard, or other composite wood panels, used in home woodworking projects, the engineered wood used in making furniture is distinctly different. Only high-end, furniture-grade particleboard and medium density fiberboard are designed for and used in furniture and cabinets. These materials have qualities not found in ordinary, construction grade boards and are not found in your local lumber store.
Furniture-grade particleboard is suitable for use in any type of furniture, from finely crafted period pieces to ready-to-assemble entertainment centers. Offering many structural advantages over solid or veneered wood, engineered wood is praised by manufacturers worldwide for its impressive resistance to warping, cracking and splitting.
When properly finished, the resulting furniture looks and performs as well as, and in many cases better than, solid or veneered wood furniture. In fact, many consumers reportedly prefer the imperfection-free look of printed wood finishes over natural wood finishes that can be marred by knot holes and uneven graining.
"Engineered wood offers all of the quality, durability and style of solid or veneered wood products," Sauder said. "Beyond these attributes, engineered wood also offers ecological advantages that appeal to today's environmentally conscious consumers."
In fact, a recent study by the U.S. Forest Service revealed that, on average, only 63 percent of a harvested tree can be used to make solid lumber. When engineered wood and other products are made from the remaining wood, more than 95 percent of the tree can be made into useful consumer products, such as cabinets and furniture. Thanks to both recycling and reforestation efforts, there's 28 percent more standing timber in the United States today than there was 40 years ago.
"Without composite woods, you'd have to cut a lot more raw timber to yield the amount of solid wood needed to make solid-wood furniture and cabinets," said Bruce Tate of Weyerhaeuser. "We've increased the productivity of the forests by factoring in the environmental benefits from using engineered wood products."
Beyond reducing the amount of timber used, engineered wood also reduces the incinerated and hard waste that pollutes the air and adds to landfills. Sawmills that once had to burn their waste now find it a hot commodity as particleboard and mills buy up the scrap waste to fill the increasing demand for engineered wood products.
And for those who worry that buying "green" means spending more, engineered wood goes one better - allowing consumers to be earthwise without having to empty their wallets. In fact, in most cases, products made with engineered wood cost from 25 percent to 40 percent less than their conventionally crafted counterparts.
As the Earth grows more and more fragile, it becomes evident that eco-decorating is much more than a design trend; it is an ecological imperative. The good news is that quality products that support this conservation effort now are readily available.
For more information about engineered wood, contact the Particleboard/Medium Density Fiberboard Institute at (301) 670-1752.
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1.- 3. What do the three rooms show here have in common?by CNBWhile they may look distinctly different and carry vastly divergent
price tags, the furnishings in these rooms share the same inner
construction - an environmentally friendly product called engineered
wood. color.