Handmade Teak Garden Furniture – Why Should You Avoid It
Handmade teak garden furniture may sound prestigious but it is usually everything but prestigious. It has nothing in common with handmade furniture which is so valued in the western countries. On the contrary, it is often inferior to fully machine made furniture when it comes to both quality of the timber and workmanship. But there are other reasons why you should avoid handmade teak garden furniture.
Teak wood almost exclusively originates from the countries of south and south-east Asia where teak tree is native to. Many regions in this part of the world are developing economies where physical labour remains a cheaper alternative to mechanized production when it comes to most things including furniture. As a result, handmade furniture is not a luxurious product like in the developed countries, while the expertise of the carpenters varies greatly.
Handmade teak garden furniture is often made by unskilled workers whose products cannot compare to quality of those made by western carpenters. In addition, they are typically underpaid for their labour and earn barely enough to support their families. By buying handmade teak garden furniture, you therefore would not be supporting the local communities and development of local economy but rather harming them by contributing to dependence of the local communities on miserable wages.
Another problem with handmade teak garden furniture is the fact that the timber typically is not harvested in sustainably managed plantations but old-growth forests. This does not only make this furniture illegal but also causes severe damage to the environment both locally by threatening biodiversity and globally by contributing to climate change. Wooden garden furniture is an environmentally friendly choice, however, only under condition that the timber is harvested in sustainably managed forests and plantations.
In addition to harming both the local communities and the environment, handmade teak garden furniture is often also made from lower quality timber. Only grade A teak offers the advantages of teak furniture. Handmade teak furniture, however, is often made from grade B or even grade C teak which contain little or no teak's natural oils that make it resistant to the outdoor elements. In addition, handmade teak furniture is often chemically treated to make it look like it would be made from grade A teak. As a result, you would pay a full grade A teak price for a furniture which does not last longer than one season if you treat it like the highest quality teak outdoor furniture.
If you really want to get the best value for your money, help preserve the forests and contribute to fair trade, you are recommended to choose fully machine made teak garden furniture which consists exclusively from grade A teak that is harvested in sustainable plantations. In order to make sure that you are really getting what you are paying for, pay attention to details which will tell you a lot about the quality of timber and workmanship or buy exclusively from reputable brands who offer a 10-year guarantee on their furniture.