Sustainable and certified: Our commitment to you and the environment

Respect for the natural environment as well as a concern for the human impact on our world has been a company commitment since Smith & Fong was founded in the 1980’s. There are many aspects to our global environmental challenge and many approaches to a solution. Bamboo resonated with us and we have been exploring the possibilities ever since.

When we first started working with bamboo, we were taken by the beauty, utility and sustainability of the material and began telling the story from our experiences. As curiosity in bamboo grew, our personal experiences expanded to include independent inspections and certifications of our forests, manufacturing processes and finished products. Today Smith & Fong products are cleaner, safer, better documented and tested than any other bamboo product on the market.

Sustainable forestry in bamboo had been a question for some years. FSC® Certified 100% certification was the answer and we began our discussions with the Forest Stewardship Council in 2006. It took two years to complete the certification process and Smith & Fong has offered FSC® Certified 100% as an option in all of our bamboo products since.

As awareness of the importance of indoor air quality grew, Smith & Fong began exploring options. In 2007 we perfected the use of non-urea-formaldehyde based adhesives in both our bamboo and palm production lines. Being first in our industry to achieve this success, we chose the California Section 01350 testing to support our results. The Cal. Section 01350 not only tests for formaldehyde, but 35 additional chemical compounds used in manufactured goods. This allowed our customers the assurance that our products were clean and that we were staying ahead of this crucial issue.

Today the industry has settled on the defacto national standard of CARB Phase II although we are still committed to the highest indoor air quality standard that meets the economic requirements of the market. This is ULEF, or ultra low emitting formaldehyde which is 10 times lower than the CARB Phase II standard. If you have further questions about this, please feel free to contact us.

All our bamboo flooring products are SCS FloorScore Certified requiring on-site factory inspections, a rigorous documentation procedure and again, California Section 01350 testing. We are proud to offer these innovations, environmental solutions and assurances to our customers who deserve our best.

In 2011, Smith & Fong was invited to Sichuan, China and to Haiti, both areas hard hit by devastating earthquakes. We were invited to help explore new models for sustainability and job creation. Bamboo was the focus of these discussions on the complex connections between natural environments and human need.

In considering the benefits of a growing bamboo industry globally there is much good to be said of it. Bamboo can be grown with little to no fertilizers, pesticides or irrigation. It can produce a reliable and sustainable supply of material for a wide range of applications from food crop and erosion control to household, construction and industrial uses. It can also provide sustainable work from forestry and farming to craft and construction and inspire a wave of innovation and creativity as new uses and applications are discovered.

For more than 20 years, Smith & Fong has been proud to be part of the solution both at home and abroad. We appreciate your support and welcome your curiosity.