Is it always wrong to buy wood products from tropical trees?
No. But when buying something from tropical woods, educate yourself as a consumer. Many stores are selling Teak from Costa Rican plantations and claiming it is part of reforesting the rainforest. This is far from the truth. A lot of the wood products available today come from Southeast Asia. Because SE Asian rainforests are being very destructively clearcut to obtain these woods, you should reconsider any purchases of any products from these woods. Much of the cheap solid wood furniture available today is from these tree species, as are many of the wood picture frames. Look at the “Made in…” label, and if it says Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Thailand, or any other Southeast Asian country, you can be pretty certain the wood came from destroying a rainforest area.
