What is the best plywood for furniture?
Through the lens of sustainability, the best plywood furniture is the one that’s made from sustainably managed plantations, preferably made locally in the country where you live.
Birch plywood is popular plywood in furniture making due to its beautiful grain pattern, light, bright appearance, and durability. However, large scale birch plantations are generally only found in North America, Northern Europe and Northern Asia. This means if you live anywhere else, your birch plywood has travelled a long way to get to you.
This unnecessary transport releases additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to the acceleration of global warming – not what we want. So make sure to select plywood that’s native to your region and manufactured locally.
In Australia, the two most common plywood types that come from trees grown here are Radiata Pine and Hoop Pine. As we covered in a recent article: What is most flat-pack furniture made of in Australia, both make excellent plywood for different applications.
Our preference, though? Hoop Pine. The gorgeous grain patterns, warm colours and the fact that it’s a native Australian species make it a winner for us. That’s why we exclusively use Hoop Pine in our flat pack desks.