March 31, 2006—The darker shades of exotic hardwoods, especially merbau, are the new fashion in flooring, but, says the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), shoppers should beware of false claims that the flooring is from sustainable sources.
Especially, the EIA warns against buying merbau flooring because its legality can not be verified by manufacturers and importers.
One of the more popular species used for flooring, merbau is a valuable hardwood only commercially available in Indonesia’s Papua Province and the neighboring country of Papua New Guinea. It is being ruthlessly targeted by illegal loggers to supply the demand from the booming western flooring markets, says the EIA.
So to help consumers who want to be sure that the wood flooring they buy is made from timber harvested in a legal and sustainable manner, it has provided a guide that focuses on merbau, but applies to all species used for flooring.
To access the guide, visit the EIA Web site.
