Tantalus Design values environmental responsibility. We are committed to using only ethically-sourced woods in our product line.
The task of procuring a given wood species responsibly requires insight into how it was harvested as well as an understanding of the political and ecological conditions of its region of origin. We feel this is necessary in light of the overwhelming losses of biodiversity and forest cover we see around the world today.
In many parts of the world the lumber industry is plagued by problems of government corruption and unrestrained illegal logging. Unfortunately, third-party certification has often proven inadequate to establish that a given wood species has been sourced legally and ethically. Because of this, we refuse to purchase wood from natural forests in some regions regardless of certification status. Instead, we have sought out forward-thinking independent suppliers around the world whose practices align with our values.
The tropical hardwoods we purchase come primarily from responsible silviculture on private land, supporting companies that reforest native species and hold high standards of employment. Other tropical woods in our collection come from urban tree removal, underwater salvage operations, and various reclaimed sources.
Although the majority of the North American and European woods we offer are not considered threatened, we are judicious with sourcing the more precarious species. We mill arbutus wood in-house at our workshop from logs provided by local arborists. Our supply of Pacific yew comes from post-forestry salvage, rescued from commercial cut-blocks where the logs would otherwise be burned or left to rot. The old-growth Douglas fir we use in our products comes exclusively from reclaimed sources. Tantalus Design is a contributor to the Ancient Forest Alliance and opposes the industrial logging of primary forests.