As Artek points out, some of the products the company makes have a negative carbon balance, meaning that this furniture stores more carbon from the atmosphere over its lifetime than is generated in the process of making it.
Artek furniture can only be made from birch grown in the northern region (Betula pendula). The continuous-cover forestry method practised by the company helps to secure that supply. However, this forestry model is not suitable everywhere. To ensure the furniture factory has the volume of timber it needs for production, Artek bought a mixed forest property in Heinevesi. The wooden furniture designed by the world-renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto is made from grade A birch grown in Finland.
“We obtain the best-quality raw material from mixed stands, from birches that have grown for 50-80 years and have as few branches as possible,” says Riku Rehell, head of product manufacturing at Artek. In the near future the company aims to buy a further 200 hectares of forest, which will be enough to cover roughly a tenth of the birch timber the factory needs. That area of forest is equivalent to about 300 football pitches. “Although we have our own forest properties, we are still fairly dependent on other forest owners whose forests grow birch.”
Artek is a well-known design company founded in 1935. It manufactures and sells furniture, lamps and textiles whose designs, well known on international markets, were created by Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) and his wife Aino Aalto (1894-1949).
Artek needs light-coloured birch timber
Artek uses about a thousand cubic metres of birch timber for furniture production every year. The company's operations depend on a steady supply of raw material. Most of the furniture it makes is produced from particularly light-coloured, durable birch timber that grows only in northern forests, where the short growing season gives the wood its characteristic properties. Climate change has affected forest growth and timber quality around the world. According to Artek figures, birch accounts for only four per cent of all tree species in Finland's forests. In mixed forests, birch regenerates naturally as a pioneer species, growing tall and straight as it reaches for the light.
What is a mixed forest? Mixed forests are defined differently in each country. In Finland they are forests in which at least two tree species grow, with no single species making up more than 75%. In Sweden the maximum figure is 65%
Continuous-cover forestry is not a universal solution
Artek plans to manage its forests using continuous-cover forestry. Under this model, trees are felled selectively. Artek specialists stress that by leaving more trees standing, including dead trees, the company can protect biodiversity more effectively than through rotation forestry, which usually ends in a clear-fell.
The company considers the economic viability of continuous-cover forestry to be “encouraging”. Artek wants to prove that it is workable both technically and economically, in the hope that other Finnish forest owners will follow its example. Forestry experts stress that this is not a universal solution, as it works best in particular growing conditions, such as fertile peatlands. “We agree with the experts that the continuous-cover method works better in certain types of forest,” says Riku Rehell.
Together with its partners, Artek is looking for mixed-stand forest properties where the soil is best suited to the continuous-cover management method. The furniture designed by A. Aalto is still made in Finland, using the timber of local birches aged 50-80 years.
Continuous-cover silviculture (in Latvian, izlases cirtes or nepārtrauktā vainagu klāja mežsaimniecība) is a forest management approach that aims to maintain a permanent canopy cover of trees by dispensing with clear-felling. The basic principles and essence of the method:
A permanent forest that is never felled in its entirety. Instead, a proportion of the trees is removed, preserving the forest microclimate and protecting the soil from erosion.
A naturally regenerating forest: the emphasis is on natural regeneration. When an older tree is felled, a young tree already present in the ground begins to grow in the space that opens up.
Structural diversity: trees of different ages, heights and species grow side by side in the forest, forming a complex and more resilient ecosystem.
Individual tree selection: during harvesting, specific trees are chosen on the basis of their quality or the need to thin the stand, rather than felling the whole compartment at once.
Main benefits:
Greater resilience: the forest is less exposed to wind damage and pest outbreaks.
Biodiversity: habitats are preserved for species that cannot survive on clear-fells.
Landscape preservation: the forest does not lose its visual appeal and is better suited to recreation.