William Garvey Teak Baths- Lovely to look at, but...
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 06.25.06
We fell in love with the William Garvey version of a Japanese ofuro (soaking tub) but we always thought teak was unsustainably harvested. Not at all, says their website-"Burma Forest Act 's intention was to protect and, as far as possible, to arrange the cutting so as to keep well within the productive power of the forests and to ensure a permanent & sustained yield from them"...." It is no exaggeration to say that Myanmar teak is the most environmentally protected timber in Asia."(read here) and "We use teak from Myanmar that is harvested in an environmentally sustainable way"
Alas, the truth may lie elsewhere. Planet Ark says "Myanmar's famed teak forests are shrinking due to rampant logging fueled by a cash-strapped military government and timber-hungry neighbors China and Thailand." (link) and just last month the Independent said "Burmese teak remains on a US Department of Labour list of items for "which there is a reasonable basis to believe ... may have been mined, produced or manufactured by forced or indentured child labour." and "There's simply no need to make furniture from conflict timber." (link) so we will admire but will take a pass. ::William Garvey
Great post, Lloyd. It's amazing how beautiful objects can simultaneously harbor such ugliness.
Not forgetting either, that any purchases from Burma, legitimises a military regime that has held the democratically elected leader of the country, Nobel Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest for 10 of the past 16 years or so years.