We recently developled a breathtaking new product that pushes the boundaries of sustainable and truly triple bottom line materials. 

Previously, the only FSC maple plywood and panels we were able to find were made from Eastern Maple, which is known for its clarity and pale blonde color.  While Eastern Maple is beautiful, and very commonly used, we needed to provide an alternative that is made entirely from wood grown in our region.

Behold: Our new Big Leaf Maple architectural-grade panels are FSC, local, and Red List Ready -- perfect for LEED, Living Building Challenge, and other cutting-edge green projects!

We started with FSC certified Big Leaf Maple hardwood from a small, family owned and operated forest just south of Portland that mills their wood on-site.  These beautiful book-matched slabs were then applied to PureBond plywood, which hails from Klamath Falls, OR, and is made using an advanced alternative to urea formaldehyde adhesives.  The glue-ups were completed in Eugene, OR, and then brought to our warehouse in Portland.

This short supply chain and collaboration with businesses in our neighboring communities helps keep our investments in the Pacific Northwest, right where we want them, and ensures that our products are not only environmentally sustainable, but also socially responsible and economically beneficial along each step of the chain.

We now stock the panels in 1/4", 1/2", and 3/4" thicknesses, perfect for cabinetry, doors, furniture, and other applications. 

Photo, top: The photo at the top righ shows the new maple panels with Osmo Polyx-Oil (background), which brings ou the red tones in the wood, and Vermont Natural Coatings (layer with logo), which softens the warm tones of the wood.
Photo, below: This robust Big Leaf Maple is growing in the small, family-owned FSC forest where the maple in our new architectural panels originates.

Sustainable Northwest Wood is honored to be the recipient of the 2012 BEST Award for Sustainable Products.  This annual program is organized by Sustainability at Work. 

At the awards ceremony last Wednesday, held at The Nines in Portland, our president Ryan Temple addressed the audience and expressed his gratitude to our loyal customers, the neighbors and freinds in our community who support us, and of course the network of foresters and small mills who work hard to provide our regional green building market with high-quality, sustainably harvested wood.

Here is a video that was put together for the ceremony that shares why Sustainable Northwest Wood was selected out of more than 150 applicants:
 

Now that it's officially springtime, it's time think about what you're going to do for your back yard and garden this year.  If you're shopping for lumber for decking, fences, arbors, or raised garden beds, be sure to ask about our Western Red Cedar!

Sustainable Northwest Wood's Western Red Cedar is FSC Pure and is sourced from restorative forestry projects within 100 miles of Portland's city limits.  It is cut as part of forest restoration projects that are designed to restore the health of the forest by opening the canopy and promoting diversity in tree species and age range.  
 
Much of our cedar comes from the Nature Conservancy's Ellsworth Creek Preserve, from the Forest Grove watershed restoration program, and from the Homestead Girl Scout camp in Zigzag.  We partner with small, family-owned mills to source the logs and cut and dry the lumber.

Cedar is an excellent choice for outdoor projects and offers many years of beauty and durability.  Much like juniper, cedar is naturally high in aromatic oils that repel insects and slow decay, but offers a more refined look with a silky, strawberry-blonde grain.  It is ideal for chemical-free raised garden beds and other uses where homeowners wish to avoid pressure-treated lumber.

AVAILABILITY:

• 2x4 surfaced decking
• 2x6 surfaced decking
• 4x4 rough, full dimension
• 1x6 rough fence board
• Custom sizes and profiles     

Photos, from top left: A home in Southeast Portland boasts a cedar fence and living wall; the deck at the home in Beaver Creek is made of our cedar; a cedar nurse log hosts a young tree at an FSC forest 40 miles from Portland.