Designer shows on television can be very enlightening, even if they are misleading their viewers. Reading the label on a product is the basis of several television shows.
One show has focused on promoting Toronto decorating and renovation using only the most ‘responsible’ products. Knowing all there is to know about sustainability is a pretty tall order.
Forest industry leaders debate sustainability issues constantly. What is the best species for the soil type? How can the crop be produced with out the cost of tending? Which wildlife species will be affected? There is a constant discussion and new set of rules.
On Sunday afternoon, I parked myself in front of a marathon of this designer, while I completed a particularly mundane task. No stress watching these shows, I thought. No blood, gore, or foul language.
In Toronto there is an expert in wood, paint, glues, carpets, remanufactured materials, windows, and lighting advising the world on the best to buy and install.
The designer’s unilateral promotion of bamboo is very curious. Bamboo is constantly declared to be the best buy for everything from flooring to cutting boards. Its sustainable, responsible and fast growing, it seems. There was no mention of maple, oak, elm or any Canadian species in the programs that featured all Sunday afternoon.
A child’s table was made from birch plywood. “This is a particular species of renewable birch,” the designer declared. Is there a non-renewable birch species? Is that inferring that birch dies forever when it is cut? That must be the urban concept of North American trees; they die forever when they are cut. No mention if the birch is from North America, China or Russia, which might contribute to its ‘greenness’.
The lack of promotion of Canadian forests and wood might stem from some marketing points. First, the television program might find a market in the U.S. and a reference to Canadian forests might offend. Second, the suppliers of bamboo are particularly strong in providing background and product support to designers. Thirdly, the designer perhaps has no idea at all what products are actually sustainable and just reads the marketing label.
Reading the label is important. If a designer declares on television that sustainability is the key to products, then Canadian forest have the market, hands down. There is also the critical point of cost, no question.
More product information on everything from a 2x4 to a sheet of plywood and flooring plank will clear up a lot of misinformation. Consumers are now reading labels like never before. To depend on a label that gives you a stamp of approval using a few letters is misleading. Producers who tell the whole story on their product are likely to clear up a lot of competition in the renovation market.