Is steam bent wood more sustainable than traditional lumber?
Yes it is! Depending on where you live, traditional lumber is almost always kiln dried and transported a long way, which produces a lot of carbon emissions. Because of the huge advantages of working directly with the local sawmill to get the correct cuts of timber for steam bending, and using it green (fresh), steam bent wood is almost always locally sourced (so little transport) and used green (so no fuel for kilning) and the actual steaming process can often be fuelled by burning wood waste. The steaming process seasons the wood as well as softens it, so it does that same job as kilning.
