Whether you're purchasing lumber to construct a home, add a room, build a deck, or just want to whittle it for fun, consider only buying wood that is certified by the Forest S... read full tip

Whether you're purchasing lumber to construct a home, add a room, build a deck, or just want to whittle it for fun, consider only buying wood that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

The FSC certification seal ensures that the wood you buy was harvested sustainably, meaning it wasn't clear-cut from a tropical rainforest or endangered temperate forest. Sustainable timber practices also respect the rights and livelihoods of indigenous peoples. Currently, FSC has certified more than 200 million acres of forest in 76 countries.

By choosing FSC-certified wood for new home construction, you'll be able to protect more than three acres of virgin forest from being harvested unsustainably. If one in every 100 homes built this year were constructed with FSC lumber, an estimated 48,000 acres of trees could be protected from destructive clear-cutting practices. That's the equivalent to protecting a forest more than twice the size of Miami.

Forest Stewardship Council
National Resources Defense Council