Most customers in the market for teak eventually come across these 3 pieces of "conventional wisdom" in regards to the tropical hardwood:
1.) It's beautiful
2.) It is not cheap
3.) It is imported from a historically-troubled area known as Myanmar (formerly Burma).
What they don't know is the fact that only #1 is totally true. Not all teak comes from the endangered rain forests of southeast Asia, nor does its sale line the pockets of a brutal political regime. Given that its illegal to import timber directly from Burma, a lot of assume that their teak comes from countries with a slightly less-dismal human rights record. Make no mistake though, many US furniture showrooms are telling the truth when they advertise "Burmese teak." That is because Burma exports its timber to neighboring nations, where the timber is milled after which exported once more towards the US, bypassing US Treasury Department sanctions.
In relation to teak furniture, we're presently experiencing the dawn of a sustainable, eco-friendly age. More than time, the high worth of teak lumber has encouraged many entrepreneurs across the world to begin their own Forest Stewardship Council-certified teak plantations, hoping to slash and burn the negative stigma that surrounds the stunning tropical hardwood. The largest hurdle: Dirty rumors. Advocates of Burmese teak claim that plantation teak is of vastly inferior high quality and that carpenters who wish to build heirloom grade teak furnishings should assistance Asia's deforestation. Nonetheless, all existing investigation appears to contradict their self-serving claims. Two leading studies, one by the USDA and yet another from the Zobel Forestry Associates confirms that the rumors that downgrade plantation teak are mildly superstitious at greatest, and intentionally misleading at worst. USDA researchers R. Sam Williams, Regis Miller and John Gangstad have confirmed that teak grown on plantations in dry tropical zones outside of SE Asia is equivalent, if not identical to the timber grown in old-growth forests when it comes to durability. So if you're within the marketplace for teak, your choice is clear. You are able to either pick a elegant, sustainable product that seeks to create the world a much more gorgeous place -- or you are able to purchase an equivalent item that assists Myanmar's regime oppress its citizens and clear-cut its tropical forests.
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