Pioneering East Bay Green Wood Products Supplier Celebrates 25th Anniversary
EarthSource Forest Products
Press Release
For Immediate Release
September 9, 2008
Contact:
John McIsaac
503-481-9621
PIONEERING EAST BAY GREEN WOOD PRODUCTS SUPPLIER
CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY
Oakland, Calif. – East Bay green building materials pioneer EarthSource Forest Products, founded by Jeff Hunt in 1983, marks its 25th anniversary this year and has signed on as an exhibitor at residential green-building tradeshow West Coast Green, to be held September 25-27 in San Jose.
EarthSource, whose West Coast Green booth is #123, will feature an array of the company’s FSC-certified, reclaimed and environmentally healthy wood products.
EarthSource, formerly Plywood And Lumber Sales Inc., is the Bay Area’s oldest and largest supplier of sustainable lumber and panels certified under the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and it was one of the country’s first wood products distributors to receive chain-of-custody certification by the FSC third-party certifier SmartWood, a program affiliated with the Rainforest Alliance. Since its inception, EarthSource has grown to become one of the largest distributors of green wood products in North America.
Unlike many wood distributors, who sell the bulk of their inventory to contractors, EarthSource’s clientele is fairly evenly made up of woodworkers, designers and finish carpenters. It’s a model that works: today the company has retail and wholesale distribution facilities in Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose.
“I feel validated when I hear people talking about the East Bay’s ‘green corridor,’” Hunt said. “We’re one of the oldest green businesses in the Bay Area, and it’s nice that the local politicians and media have taken notice of this movement.”
Last year the company opened at its Oakland headquarters a 2,200-square-foot sustainable wood products showroom—called The Urban Jungle—that features exotic flooring, outdoor furniture, decking, wall panels, custom cabinetry and millwork, most of which are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). All products featured are manufactured with environmentally healthy, low-emitting adhesives and finishes; some are comprised of reclaimed raw materials. The Urban Jungle is open to the public and serves to educate and promote the benefits of specifying sustainable wood.
EarthSource Forest Products, a groundbreaking wholesale distributor and dealer of sustainable wood products, was created as a division of longtime San Francisco Bay Area wood products supplier Plywood And Lumber Sales Inc. (PALS), which was founded by Jeff Hunt in 1983. EarthSource opened its doors in 1996 as demand for green products began to significantly increase from architects, designers and woodworkers throughout the Bay Area and even outside of California. EarthSource is open to the public, with branches in Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose, California.
