Go with the grain: Polish up on the ethics of buying wood

Wooden floors, wooden worktops, wooden furniture. We can't live without it. Once it was mahogany everything. Then for a while it was antique pine. Yet as our concerns for the planet grow, we also have to take note of where it comes from, and this is in conflict with our increasing interest in interior design. More than ever our homes are a reflection of just how fashionable we are. You might be desperate for the latest dark wooden floor as a contrast to everyone else's original Victorian pine. You might fancy a coffee table in that desperately chic yompa wood – but is it ethical as well as fashionable?

HEVEA

What is it? This sounds terribly exotic but it is actually the source of nearly all the world's rubber production so actually it's just plain old rubberwood.

Is it green? Yes. There lots of it about. It comes from a controlled and sustainable source. Rubber trees stop producing latex after 25 years and the plantations are harvested and repl-anted with younger trees to ensure continuing production.

YOMPA

What is it? A variety of ash that comes from Laos. The wood is very hard and is said to remain in pristine condition with very little care. Both the Conran shop and the Holding Company are producing furniture from this, which gives it serious fashion credentials.

Is it green? A spokesman for The Holding Company said: "We started using this wood because we thought there were nice pieces. As far as we are aware there is nothing nasty in its production."

What is it good for? Furniture. Yompa fits with the current trend for paler woods. The Holding Company did produce a range of storage made from dark stained yompa but it did not sell and has been discontinued, while the paler version is going well.

WENGE

What is it? An exotic wood from Africa that is nearly black, with fine brown streaks. The grain can be either very linear or have a kind of flame pattern, depending on what part of the tree it came from.

Is it green? The first questions to ask about any wood is: has it been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, and does it carry their logo. If it isn't then you should start thinking of alternatives. Ring FSC UK (01686 413916) for more information. Wenge is on the Greenpeace Red List, which means it is vulnerable to illegal and unsustainable logging. Belinda Fletcher, one of their campaigners, said she was unaware of safe alternatives and counselled avoiding it altogether. Chris Cox, the environmental co-ordinator for Timbet Silverman, the largest independent timber importer and distributor in the UK, agrees: "You can't get it certified, so you can't be completely sure where it came from. If you want to be completely confident, use something else."

What is it good for? This chocolatey wood is in vogue for flooring – as an alternative to that pale pine look typical of the Victorian terrace – as well as in kitchens. As Cox says: "It is very fashionable."

BLACK WALNUT

What is it? A hardwood that is now very fashionable for use in kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms. But you need to be very careful where you get it from. This is what you should be looking for instead of wenge. It's just as fashionable – and cheaper.

Is it green? African walnut is on the Red List and should be avoided, but black walnut from the temperate forests of North America is fine. The Americans haven't signed up to FSC certification but they have their own scheme, SFI, which many suppliers regard as being just as good. Andrew Craig, the site director at James Latham, says: "You need to be careful of wood from the tropical forests and many people confuse African walnut with this walnut from America."

What is it good for? Increasingly used in kitchens. Craig says that three years ago, there was hardly any demand for dark.

BAMBOO

What is it? Well, it isn't actually a wood, it's a grass. It often grows in places where the forest has been felled. Currently fashionable.

Is it green? There is no FSC certification, but bamboo can be grown without fertilisers or pesticides.

What is it good for? Bulthaup, the chic kitchen manufacturers, are using it for worktops and it's a great alternative to a wooden floor. It's much cheaper than wood as well.

MERBAU

What is it? This light golden wood has been in vogue in recent years.

Is it green? Merbau is on the Greenpeace Red List as being vulnerable, much of it is being logged unsustainably and many suppliers are scaling down or stopping their orders. Having said that, there is still a lot of it available to buy online. Chris Cox says: "It has been identified as being a desirable wood but it has been fingered by many of the environmental groups as distinctly dodgy."

What is it good for? Mainly flooring.

To see the Greenpeace Good Wood Guide, visit www.greenpeace.org.uk. This will give you a list of both FSC and vulnerable woods.

What to look for

Not all woods are FSC certified but there are other certifications to look for.

* FSC means that the wood has been tracked from forest to furniture. It is supported by most environmental groups and buyers, and is regarded as the gold standard.

* PEFC, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification was created and funded by the forestry industry, and it is a Europe-wide scheme. Greenpeace doesn't approve as there is huge variation in standards.

* SFI, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, was developed in 1994 by the American Forest and Paper Association. While some environmentalists and suppliers say it helps, others feel that it does nothing.

* CSA, the Canadian scheme, has sparked less controversy than the American scheme and many suppliers are happy to buy wood that has been given this certification.

* SGS and MTCC are schemes from Malaysia and Indonesia. While not as good as the FSC, many suppliers regard it as a step in the right direction. It is better than buying wood from the tropical rainforests that has no certification at all, but it isn't as thorough as the other schemes, says one.

Merbau's out, bamboo's in – and don't even think about wenge. Kate Watson-Smyth polishes up on the ethics of buying wood