Sustainable Materials

Finding a new use for a discarded resource.

We are interested in making our own substrate for molded plywood out of palm wood. Some of this comes from Los Angeles and some from the East Coast. The palm fronds in L.A. never make it into product of any kind; this material doesn’t even make it into mulch. It winds up in a dump, because it can’t be mulched through the traditional process. Manufacturers don’t want to do things that are experimental or risky. They don’t want to use the waste stream unless they see it as cost effective, but I’m lucky to have found one furniture manufacturer who has agreed to try.

Recent Programs