Friends of the Earth: Good wood guide checklist

Good wood guide checklist

Make the best environmental choice when buying or using wood. Start with step 1 - the best option - and work your way through.

Step 1

Repair, restore or adapt something you already have. You may need professional help but it could still be cheaper than something new and it's far better for the world's forests.

Step 2

Buy secondhand, recycled, reclaimed or waste timber. A better environmental choice than buying new.

Buy locally produced timber products that are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. If you can't recycle, buying locally-produced timber products means less fossil fuel is used in transportation. All FSC certified wood carries the FSC logo.

Step 4

Buy FSC certified products from farther afield. If there is no timber available from a locally certified forest, the FSC logo is always preferable.

Advice about non FSC timber

Without FSC certification, there is no guarantee that your timber is from a well-managed forest. If FSC wood isn't available you have some difficult decisions to make.

When buying non FSC timber:

Find out the timber type
Refer to the A - Z of different types of wood timber to see if it's from an endangered species
Find out about the forests and certification schemes in the timber's country of origin from the book Order now
Find out more about the types of wood available in the book Order now
Always insist on an alternative timber if necessary
Explore other sources of information on wood.

Buy the book

Analysis of the timber trade worldwide
Expertise on the state of our forests.