Forests: GOOD WOOD: Timber With A Green Pedigree

You can find it in a new Gibson guitar, in kiosks at the Nature Company stores and even in the Portland Trailblazers' practice court. It's wood harvested responsibly from an eco-friendly commercial forest, not timber stripped from a virgin rain forest. How do you know? The Forest Stewardship Council says so.

This international group oversees other expert organizations that certify well-managed forests and their wood products. FSC-approved inspectors (in the U.S. they would be from the Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood group or Scientific Certification Systems) check to see whether a landowner harvests wood in a way that does not harm animal habitats,...