Furniture
Rubber wood: the perfect 100% vegetable material for your furniture
Wood has been and still is one of the most used materials in furniture manufacturing thanks to its resistance, beauty and durability. In the case of ecological furniture and specifically sofas, producers can choose between different types of wood, as long as it complies with current regulations and is environmentally friendly. Within this wide variety of wood types we find rubber wood, a 100% ecological material ideal for making furniture and sofas.
In this post we will take a detailed look at what rubber wood is and how it can be used to make sustainable furniture.
What is rubber wood
Rubber wood comes from several Asian tree species, known by its scientific name Hevea Brasiliensis and whose main industrial and commercial use is the production of latex. When latex production slows down, at about 25 years of age, the tree is harvested for processing into environmentally friendly and sustainable rubber wood.
Rubber has at first a very soft whitish, sometimes pinkish color, which over time yellows and fades to a light brown color. Although rubber may give the impression of flexibility, the truth is that rubber wood is moderately hard, with a medium texture, straight grained and coarse grained with little natural sheen. We could say that it has a density very similar to ash wood and maple hardwood.
When it comes to working rubber wood, it stands out for being very easy to handle with both manual and mechanical tools. It is very easy to saw and plane and accepts glues and many types of finishes perfectly. During the drying process it usually curves; however, once dry, it becomes very stable. When sanding the wood, if done correctly, it facilitates staining to resemble trees such as walnut, oak or cherry.
Uses of rubber wood in sustainable furnishings
Ecological wood comes from sustainably managed forests, which promote replanting rather than deforestation. Sustainably manufactured furniture must carry the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) labels.
In the case of rubber wood, it is considered a sustainable and environmentally friendly type of wood because it comes from renewable sources, i.e. from plantations that have already fulfilled a useful function: in this case the production of latex.
Thanks to its properties, rubber wood is suitable for use in joinery as well as for the manufacture of furniture and other components such as parquet, wood panels and kitchen products.
The fact that it is easy to work also favors the use of rubber wood for the manufacture of indoor furniture such as sofas, tables, armchairs or chairs.
It should be noted that its main use is for indoor rather than outdoor products. The reason is that, as it grows in warm, humid climates, it has a high starch content that favors the appearance of mold and mildew.
Environmentally friendly furniture in Pau
At Pau, we are moving forward every day to improve our manufacturing system towards a sustainable and environmentally friendly model.
That is why we use certified wood that comes from sustainable national forests in which more trees are planted each year than are harvested, generating long-lasting products with an extensive useful life. In addition, we recycle more than 90% of what we produce, and the by-product that is generated is converted into new boards, favoring the circular economy model.
It is worth mentioning that we have recently installed 103 solar panels in our factory that generate between 60 and 65% of the energy we use, making our company a much more sustainable business model, avoiding the annual emission of 16,170 kgs of CO2.
If you want to know more about how we work and what kind of materials we use in our products as a sustainable furniture company, such as the textiles in interior design we use, do not hesitate to visit our website, we are waiting for you!
