The rise of solid wood furniture in the China market can be attributed to the local belief that solid wood does not contain formaldehyde, is more durable, more valuable, and is more elegant. In its local context, solid wood is seen as ‘purer’ than engineered woods.

“Laymen tend to give a lot of advice. They are often heard and read, so their words become the mainstream,” said Li Wang, the editor of Shanghai Furniture Magazine. The layman phenomenon is so prevalent that it’s normal for writers to write about mahogany, artisans to talk about design theories, furniture designers to talk about management, and government officers to talk about branding.

In wood, furniture and design industries, laymen call themselves experts and comment on solid wood. They deem their comments as “appraisal from the experts”, “judgment from industry associations”, and “evaluation from the media”. However, these comments often only serve to confuse the consumers.

Ms Li adds: “For example, the editor of a furniture newspaper once published an article to tell the consumers that only solid wood furniture is free of formaldehyde. I wrote in immediately to correct them, to remind the paper that solid wood (including teak and burl) does contain excessive formaldehyde. At the end of the day, I did not receive any response from the paper, and no clarification was made.”

With all these erroneous comments on solid wood, the public is misled to believe that engineered woods are of poorer quality.

WHY ENGINEERED WOOD

The selection of wood material became more rigorous with the advent of wood processing technology after the Second World War. Solid wood furniture required a large section of wood. Therefore, most of the time, only the trunk is picked. In the process of sawing the trunks into boards, 40 percent of the trunk is wasted. After drying, cutting the lumber and planning, only 10 – 15 percent (or less) of the trunk is actually used to build furniture parts. As such, the method is not economically viable or sustainable.

Experts in the wood processing industry came up with a new technology to make full use of all the timber milled. The round end of the trunk, the roots, as well as the branches are crushed and made into engineered wood, such as medium density fibreboards, particleboards and others. In addition, farmland crop residues are incorporated in engineered wood production, in order to conserve resources and protect the environment.

ASSOCIATED PROBLEMS

Adhesive is an essential material in the production of engineered wood. Due to poor environmental knowledge in the past, large amount of adhesive containing formaldehyde was used. Consequently, consumers believe that engineered wood is ‘bad’ wood.

Nonetheless, as soon as the EU members and other developed nations set the E1 benchmark, the People’s Republic of China implemented the standard in order to reduce formaldehyde content found in wood. At present, formaldehyde content in some engineered wood can be lower than that found in solid wood.

The Japanese launched the E0 benchmark, which requires an even stricter control on formaldehyde content in wood products installed at ‘sensitive’ locations like hospitals and schools. Engineered wood that fulfil the E0 standard contain less formaldehyde than average daily commodities. It is not wrong to say that engineered wood is a safe choice for furniture.

Opting for engineered wood can also protect the environment. Therefore, real experts, industry associations and the media should inform consumers that engineered wood has its benefits like lower formaldehyde content and can be more durable (as solid wood can crack or deform). As such, for large surfaces, such as table tops, plywood veneer offers a choice alternative.

CHANGING MINDSET

Besides mahogany, the value of solid wood depends on consumers’ attitude. Let’s look at other consumer products for comparison:

Light bulb: Initially, light bulb was invented to last for 15,000 hours. Today, the average life span is about 1,000 hours.

Mobile phone: Ten years ago, a mobile phone can be used up to five years. Today, a mobile phone launched a year ago is considered outdated.

Car: In the past, cars were good for several decades. Today, since more and more developed countries have introduced a scrap scheme to replace cars older than 10 years, car manufacturers design cars to last just long enough to meet customers’ expectations.

In short, consumers’ mindset has changed over the years. Today, new products are launched everyday to fulfil the need of consumer-driven economies in the West. The fast-paced market has given birth to innovative Americans, who are always looking for change. For example, Americans refurbish the homes more frequently. As such they often go for engineered wood as it is cheaper than solid wood.

On the other hand, a large proportion of mainland Chinese remain in agriculture. They are relatively resistant to change. For furniture, the Chinese insist on solid wood, without attempting to compare with engineered wood. They overlook the design aspect, which is the considered by and large as the most important element in a furniture piece.

Italian furniture appears trendy and chic without using solid wood; Chinese furniture, despite being made of solid wood, can also be poorly designed. In China, furniture is designed to show off the material. Hence, it is quite common to find thick headboards and sofa arms thicker than staircase handrails.