By Matthew Spieler
In today’s world of fraudulent business activities, Internet scams, unsafe/dangerous products entering the U.S. and people misrepresenting themselves, the need for proper accreditation is growing every day. From searching for a doctor or car mechanic to products sprouting some type of seal of recommendation by a respected source, having the proper certification can mean the difference in winning new customers.

There are many endorsements and certification programs in the flooring industry that state a person, product or company meets an agreed upon set of requirements for professionalism, quality, environmental friendliness and so on.

When it comes to wood flooring—and the entire wood industry—the big debate in recent years has been how to combat illegal logging and having the lumber from these trees end up as a consumer product.

This problem has escalated over the last decade as the wood industry has truly become global with more and more exotic species from every corner of the world being sourced. In flooring alone, trees are or have been harvested from places including Brazil, Russia, Australia, Africa, China, Indonesia and Vietnam to name a few.

Because of worldwide awareness of deforestation as well as the growing environmental movement by consumers, the need for companies to certify the wood they use was not only obtained legally but did not promote destructive management of the forests is essential.

“Individual governments find it challenging to prevent illegal logging as a result of many factors, corruption of local officials being a primary one,” explained Dewevai Buchanan, vice president of hardwood for Mohawk’s Unilin division. “However, independent third party certification goes to the forest where the timber is harvested and can match stump on the ground to log on the truck. By purchasing only certified products we eliminate the market for illegally harvested timber. By eliminating the market of illegal harvested timber you eliminate the incentive to market illegally harvested timber.”

Luc Robitaille, vice president of marketing for Boa-Franc Mirage, said certification is important because “it demonstrates that manufacturers are responsible in the sourcing of their wood supplies. It also reassures consumers that they are purchasing socially responsible products.”

Ed Korczak, executive director of the National Wood Flooring Association ( NWFA), agreed with Robitalle’s assessment about end user attitudes. “Consumers are demanding green; the A&D community is wanting to build green, so it’s important to know about certification. If the companies whose products you carry have documentation showing the wood was obtained legally and through proper channels, it makes it easier to sell and specify.”

Becoming certified

While no one will argue that having the source and/or chain of custody of the wood verified just how one goes about it has many paths. Currently there are a number of organizations and companies that have certification programs. But like everything else in the world, no two are alike. Not only do they use different sets of criteria, some document only specific areas such as the Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Verified Sustainable program for woods coming from the Appalachian forest, to those that go to the most remote jungles in the world to ensure that the woods are being properly managed.

“They each have different criteria and standards but all do a good job,” Korczak noted. “The gold standard right now is from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). It is truly a third-party certification that’s unbiased.”

Dick Quinlin, general manager for Armstrong’s Bruce Hardwood Floors, said, “Our goal is to sell hardwood that has been harvested from well-managed forests. Sustainable forestry is a critical requirement for all certification programs. We are strong proponents of wood as a sustainable resource and seek suppliers who employ best management practices.”

He noted, 95% of the company’s lumber comes from the U.S.—“harvested legally and maintained by landowners and producers.” In instances where Armstrong’s wood comes from tropical forests, the mill “requires suppliers to produce documentation verifying their adherence to national and international rules and regulations governing specific tropical wood species.”

Even for companies that manage their own forests, such as A&W, parent of Ark Floors, ensuring the outside world they are done in a responsible manner is important.

Ira Lefkowitz, Ark’s CEO, explained “When A&W first acquired forestry in Brazil it enlisted experts to draft an environmental protection plan ensuring reasonable exploitation and sustainable development. From that input A&W implemented a round-harvesting program that helps us measure and supervise how we utilize the forest, segmenting it into different sections that are logged individually every five years to assure sustainability of its productivity.”

These efforts have not gone un-noticed, he added. Lu Weiguang, A&W’s chairman, has been invited to speak on CNN, and at the World Forest Environment Forum hosted by World Wildlife Federation. “We have also been approved as CFTN (China Forest and Trade Network) and achieved our Green Pass to the international timber and flooring market— Chain of Custody Certification (FSC/COC) in 2006.

Dan Natkin, director of Mannington’s hardwood business, noted, “The loggers we work with are each certified intheir own states. They go through regular training to ensure their logging practices minimize any potential impact on the environment and help the forests to grow faster and more productively.”

Added expense

While this authorization ensures their commitment to responsible forestation, he added, “We also understand that for certain projects it’s a requirement to have wood that holds a more globally recognized certification. To that end, we are working toward a solution that makes sense from a manufacturing standpoint but that is also palatable for the channel from a cost standpoint.”

Korczak admits, “Certification will add some cost to a product. But studies show consumers will be willing to pay up to 5% more for a green product.So the job is to make sure the added certification cost falls under that limit.”

And that is currently one of the biggest issues in this whole arena. He pointed to other studies that show the cost to certify should add 3% to 4% to the price. In the U.S. 33 states grow wood that are used for flooring and all are sustainable. As a group, for every one tree that is harvested, 1.6 are planted. “The problem is, right now only 3% to 5% of the forests in the U.S. are actually certified.”

The reason is that 80% of the wood used for floors come from family forests of 100 acres or less. So because it is harder to obtain wood from a certified forest, the extra cost is currently higher than the 5% threshold. “We need to figure out a way to get more of these family forests certified in order to get costs down,” Korczak added.

Then there is the wood that comes from overseas. While there are organizations that work across international borders, the problem is that each country has its own set of laws and cultural heritage. So what may be legal or accepted practices in one may not be in another.

International solution

Earlier this year in Shanghai, China, NWFA, along with its European and Chinese counterparts met to discuss how they may be able to overcome these obstacles and ensure the world that wood flooring is a sustainable and an environmentally friendly product ( FCNews, April 7/14).

“When we meet again in Germany next January,” Korczak said, “the biggest thing we are going to focus on will be the global issue of illegal logging. It has to be validated by a third party, but as individual nations with our own laws and cultures, we need to agree on a definition of what illegal logging is.”

He explained there are two types of verification: legal origin and legal compliant. “The second is where we feel we really need to go and find a mechanism to police it. I’m very confident we can come to a global standard in this way. We’re all moving in the same direction.”

Mirage’s Robitaille hopes this will be the case. “As a manufacturer we would prefer a single standard regardless of the geographical boundaries as it makes product development much easier. It also sets the same rules for everyone which in turn levels the playing field so that the best companies can shine without having to deal with regulations that favor one company over another.

“Furthermore,” he added, “the overall credibility a common certification for hardwood floors would provide our industry versus other floor covering materials would be tremendous.”

Mohawk’s Buchanan said the company would favor such an initiative, but the problem is that “international certification programs have a tendency to penalize or impede poor countries from participation because of the additional cost associated with the certification programs. Smaller and/or poorer regions may not have proper representation or resources to participate. If every country were allowed only one vote, then an international standard could be a positive thing.”

Regardless of the type of verification a company currently uses as well as what might come down the pipeline, Lefkowitz pointed out “when it’s all said and done, it is up to the manufacturers to make sure that product comes from legal sources that can provide documentation.”

In addition, he believes “It is the manufacturer’s responsibility to begin the cycle of knowledge. When Ark launches a distributor, we provide training that covers everything from our green story down to our eco-friendly urethane finish. Distributor reps are then armed with marketing and information pieces to, in turn, take to dealers. Our consumer brochure also depicts our commitment. As our company grows, so will our methods to assist dealers and distributors in educating consumers.”

Robitaille noted that like the certification process itself, education takes an effort. “It is not just a matter of placing a logo on your marketing literature, it is much more demanding than that. All participants in the value chain should be very well versed in the certification side of our industry. They are looked upon by their customers as experts and they should be able to advise them on what is best for their needs while explaining certification is certainly part of that role.”

Beyond just certification, Korczak said wood in general “has a great environmental story to tell.” He pointed to a recent study by Yale University that used life cycle analysis metrics and showed that wood is one of the most sustainable, environmentally friendly product options consumers can have.

But, he notes, it is up to the industry as a whole. In this, NWFA is taking the lead by working with other organizations, mills and its ad agency to develop educational materials on the subject.