Are timber worktops environmentally sound?
This is a big question! The answer depends on where you buy you timber worktop from and what species it is. Some people will tell you that African species such as Iroko and Wenge are (I quote) “damaging rain forests”. It is true that many companies are selling timber worktops these days. Almost all of the companies are buying through distributors and agents and therefore they have to hope that their worktops are environmentally sound or rely upon their distributor having some sort of policy. I can tell you factually that the larger companies put their profits way higher on their priority list than their concerns about the environment. At MAK Distributors Ltd, not only do we buy our own worktops directly from the worktop manufacturers, we have made the effort to visit the Beech, Oak and Walnut forests in Europe and the Iroko & Wenge forests in Africa to establish that the timber is sustainable. The Iroko forest in West Africa for example is truly immense. We took a helicopter ride aroun
