When it comes to choosing outdoor furniture, it can be a real challenge to find the perfect balance between quality, beauty and environmental friendliness. However, there is one solution that ticks all the boxes: teak outdoor furniture. Not only is teak wood beautiful and durable, but it stands out as the most eco-friendly and sustainable choice for furniture construction material. Why should you have to compromise your values or your aesthetics? Find out how you can have striking and comfortable outdoor furniture while also making a positive impact on the planet with teak outdoor furniture.
Teak furniture offers numerous eco-friendly advantages, making it an ideal choice for sustainable outdoor living. These advantages include the responsible, regulated manner in which teak trees are grown and harvested. Compared to plastic, metal or other materials which contribute to greenhouse emissions, only teak wood naturally sequesters carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. And natural oils and a dense grain make teak outdoor furniture especially durable and long-lived, keeping it out of landfills.
Teak Wood is a Sustainable, Renewable, and Regulated Resource
It probably goes without saying that trees are a renewable resource – when done properly, the growth and harvest of trees align with eco-friendly and sustainable practices. Teak wood in particular is a model of renewability and sustainability thanks to its inherent characteristics, desirability and profitability. Teak wood grows uncommonly fast, which means teak growers can harness its renewable potential more effectively than other tree types.
And there’s an economic reason for that: teak wood supply is an internationally recognized trade commodity. Its careful cultivation is taken very seriously by countries that stand to profit from it. Many of those countries have imposed strict regulations and guidelines to ensure sustainable growth and harvesting techniques are maintained. Teak is a cash crop for many countries, and it’s in their best interest to produce and harvest it in a sustainable way.
Teak Furniture and Carbon Sequestration
The sustainability and renewability of teak groves contributes even more to its eco-friendliness when carbon sequestration is taken into account. Carbon sequestration is a term that refers to any process that extracts carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and secures it in a different form. Trees are one of the planet’s best carbon sequestration tools – they have the ability to take large amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere. Hardwood trees with dense wood tend to store more carbon that softwoods with lighter wood. Additionally, the faster a species of tree grows, the more carbon it can accumulate, faster.
Teak is one of the world’s fastest growing hardwood trees with a notoriously hard, dense wood: that makes it one of the most efficient and effective species for carbon sequestration. Whole forests of teak trees in south and southeast Asia contribute to mitigating climate change thanks to the positive environmental impact of groves of teak taking carbon out of the air and trapping it in their wood.
Once the tree has done its job of growing rapidly and extracting the carbon, making furniture out of the wood helps keep the carbon sequestered even longer. Rather than burn the wood and return the carbon to the atmosphere, or subject it to manufacturing processes that would just contribute more harmful gasses to the atmosphere, teak furniture keeps that carbon locked in. That means while you beautify your outdoor living space, your teak furniture is holding on to sequestered CO2.
Teak Outdoor Furniture Manufacturing vs Other Materials
Once the tree has grown and been harvested sustainably, its eco-friendly advantages extend to the manufacturing process. Compared to the energy-intensive processes that go into making outdoor furniture made from plastics and metals, producing teak outdoor furniture consumes far less energy and produces far fewer harmful emissions. No forges, blast furnaces or molds are necessary to produce teak outdoor furniture, which can’t be said of furniture from other materials.
Even if manufacturing teak furniture required the same amount of energy or emission as other materials (and it doesn’t), the sourcing of the material is much more eco-friendly than the alternatives. Plastics are derived from oil and fossil fuels and metals must be excavated, processed and purified. All those processes require energy which teak wood growth and harvesting does not.
Teak Furniture Doesn’t Need Harsh Chemicals or Preservatives
Another eco-friendly advantage of teak outdoor furniture is that once it’s been manufactured, it doesn’t have to be replaced any time soon. Teak wood’s most recognizable traits are its rich natural oils and dense grain that make it, even among hardwoods, uniquely long-lived. Insect damage is practically unheard of with teak wood and it’s highly resistant to decay.
Outdoor teak furniture is also notoriously resilient in the face of harsh weather conditions. Rain, snow, hail, sunshine – teak wood furniture regularly survives the worst nature has to throw at it and can be used the very next day.
Typically, preserving and maintaining outdoor furniture requires chemicals. But teak outdoor furniture can be maintained with natural wood oils and all-natural preservatives. Keeping your outdoor teak furniture looking great doesn’t contribute in any way to indoor or outdoor air pollution.
Teak Wood Furniture Doesn’t End Up in Landfills
Consumers love teak wood outdoor furniture’s resilience and durability for a number of obvious reasons, but not least of which is that it needs to be replaced less often. When it’s maintained and preserved through natural means, teak wood furniture is extremely long-lived. Unlike a plastic or vinyl camp chair that falls apart after two seasons or a composite patio table that looks shabby after five years, teak outdoor furniture can outlive the person who buys it!
Rather than fill our landfills with chairs, tables and outdoor furniture made from plastics and metals that will never break down, purchase teak wood furniture and know that it’ll maintain its luster and shine for decades while never finding its way to a trash heap.
The Obvious Choice
All told, for anyone looking to make the sustainable choice in outdoor living, teak wood’s many eco-friendly advantages should make it the obvious choice. Carbon sequestration means teak wood traps more CO2 than goes into producing it. Natural durability means no chemicals or harsh preservatives. And its extraordinarily long life promises that you won’t need to throw it out and replace it.
Teak outdoor furniture is eco-friendly and sustainable – it’s also beautiful and versatile. Teak Warehouse offers outdoor sets for any use or need. From small 4-person tables for the family to beautiful patio benches that could seat entire parties, shop Teak Warehouse and find the right outdoor furniture for you. And while you do, feel comfortable that you’re choosing the most eco-friendly option for outdoor furniture.
