Environmentally Responsible Sources

Paul December

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I noticed that Makapili goes into great detail how his instruments are from Environmentally Responsible Sources

Other than some references to Rosewood , I've never heard real concerns of where wood is sourced from due to political or environmental concerns.

Is this a Makapili thing... a European thing ... or have I just been living in a cave :confused:

Is buying an instrument from "Environmentally Responsible Sources" something you consider when buying a uke?
 
I do consider it to be a pretty important factor in buying a uke, and I hope that the players and manufacturers start to lean this way in the near future before the classic tonewoods become scarce.

A few examples of sustainability in uke-making at the moment:

KoAloha uses koa from fallen trees, which is definitely a plus. Ko'olau, S&J (Emil Bader), and Chuck Moore (Moore Bettah) like to use non-traditional woods that are abundant in Hawai'i and more sustainable than koa. Dave G. of Waverly Street Ukuleles prefers to use local wood grown near his shop in Ohio. The Australian hoop pine used for Flukes and Fleas is sustainable. Oceana uses mostly reclaimed wood.

I'm missing lots of others; feel free to jump in (or correct me; I could be wrong about some of these)!
 
Can it be assumed that the big, factory manufacturers are environmentally irresponsible? Do manufacturers like Kala & Lanikai use rare woods?
 
At Oceana Ukuleles we build as responsibly as possible. We use a lot of reclaimed wood (wood that was previously used in some other use) I like to call it rescued... I feel like find treasures and polish them!
Zac Steimle
www.oceanaukuleles.com
 
Aloha Paul,,
We as consumers should be enviromentally concious and responsible and think green and not only with our instuments
but everything we use in our daily lives. Old world timber might be a better alternative solution but more expensive, and may have better sound
qualities due to it's tight grains from slow growth. The most imprortant factor, price....it's an easy choice for some and some not.
Please do your best to do the right thing... MM Stan....
 
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That's part of the reason we offer mango. Aside from making a great sounding and beautiful uke, it comes from a common tree that is farmed for the fruit.

Just recently the US customs has inplemented the Lact Act. This is essentially a law that prohibits the import and use of wood from threatened and senstive areas as well as protecting endangered animals. If you remember, I think it was Gibson that got into trouble because of this recently.

http://www.eia-global.org/lacey/P6.EIA.LaceyReport.pdf
 
I think Risa had a thing with using environmentally sustainable woods like spruce and walnut, instead of rarer ones like mahogany and koa.
 
I'm all for using new woods, I now mostly play my Ko'olau made of ulawood (toon).

However, I can't think of a better use for rare woods than musical instruments. I say replant the trees and make all the ukes you can, as opposed to furniture or panelling.
 
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