Many beautiful, highly sought-after woods-including teak, mahogany, and Brazilian cherry-fall into this category. They are hardwoods harvested from tropical rainforests, which are rapidly succumbing to deforestation. The worldwide market for tropical hardwood is one of many contributors to the rapid destruction of the rainforests, since very few rainforests are sustainably harvested (the Forest Stewardship Council monitors those that are). Some environmentalists have called for a boycott of tropical hardwood products. The logging industry is not, however, the primary factor in deforestation. Agricultural and industrial expansion have become the biggest culprits.

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