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Unsustainable forest management is causing biodiversity loss, soil erosion, and negatively affecting the economies of communities worldwide. Clean air, clean water, and medicinal plants are all at stake.

You can do your part to preserve forest resources by purchasing wood that has been harvested in a sustainable manner. That means that care is taken to avoid harvesting so many trees that the ecosystem is damaged. "Independently Certified" or "Third-Party Certified" wood assures consumers that the wood they are purchasing is coming from a sustainably harvested forest.

Certifiers provide independent evaluation of forest management practices, forest products, timber sources, and companies. This helps the public to identify products and practices that do not destroy forests and their delicate ecosystems.

To learn more about certified wood, visit the Certified Forest Products Council.

Here are some labels you can look and ask for:

• The Forest Stewardship Council’s "FSC-Certified" label. Founded in 1993, FSC is a nonprofit organization based in Waterbury, Vermont and Oaxaca, Mexico. The FSC supports environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests. They have two databases available to help you find FSC Products. Wood products with FSC’s label can also be found in the U.S. at Home Depot or Ikea.

• The SmartWood program of the Rainforest Alliance. The Rainforest Alliance has certified about 101 million acres of forest in the U.S., Central America, and worldwide according to environmentally and socially responsible forest management.

• A Canadian trio of nonprofit organizations has created The Markets Initiative, which works to protect old-growth forests by promoting their value and offering alternative paper and wood products. A directory of Canadian Alternative Suppliers is available.

To avoid contributing to deforestation, purchase sustainable, nontoxic wood products for your furniture and flooring .

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