Sustainability is a term we hear a lot of these days, but what does it actually mean? According to Wikipedia:

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs according to the definition of the UN Brundtland Commission in 1987.

Sustainability is about the scarcity of resources with which prosperity is produced, both now and in the future. The surface of the Earth is finite, raw materials are running out, the absorption capacity of the atmosphere and our natural environment has its limits.

The terms sustainability and sustainable use originate from forestry. Later they were also used in fishery biology. In both cases the significance was related to ecological concepts. It meant managing nature in such a way that the natural structures and processes were not fundamentally affected. Specifically: fish or timber, extracted  from fishing grounds or forests could no longer exceed the limits imposed by the natural rate of increase. Respecting this 'user space'  means that future generations can continue to use it.

Sustainable development is therefore an ideal balance between ecological, economic and social interests. All developments on a technological, economic, ecological, political or social  level, that contribute to a healthy Earth with affluent residents and well-functioning ecosystems, are sustainable."

Sustainability sounds wonderful in theory but how can theory be put into practice? Everyone has a different view of sustainability, but Rowood has always believed that buying quality means a longer lifespan and therefore durability. Quality has always been very important to us. We feel that buying inferior goods in our consumer society is not beneficial to sustainability.

Sustainability is expensive in the short term but in the long run it is cheaper. For example: you can buy a reasonable dryer for 1000 euros with a lifespan of about 15 years or a cheap dryer for 200 euros which often lasts only 1.5 years. You do the math. Rowood recognizes that we have a responsibility to the environment and we think it extremely important that our products contain wood from well managed forests.  For that reason we have been FSC ® certified since 2006

Rowood feels that sustainability must come from the people themselves and it's the little things that can help to improve the environment. When shopping, do not buy plastic bags but bring your own purse, recycle material where possible and dispose of waste safely. At Rowood we try to purchase everthing as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible, because we want the best for our children in the future.