Green Program

As a family-owned company, we recognize the importance of leaving the next generation with something they can be proud of. We want to do our part in taking care of the planet our parents left us and that we will leave for our children. Since 1965, Decore-ative Specialties has remained conscientious of our natural resources and is dedicated to providing our customers with the highest quality products.

The constantly evolving “green” building industry can be difficult to navigate at times. That is why we categorized our Green Program into 3 tiers, ranging from sustainable wood materials in the Green Category to environmental certifications in the Greenest category. There is room in the “green” building industry for every one and every project!

Responsible Forest Management:

Decore-ative Specialties is committed to protecting forests locally and abroad. By purchasing lumber & plywood from suppliers who practice responsible forest management to protect the resources our industry depends on. Decore-ative responsible forestry management also includes purchasing high quality lumber and continually improving our manufacturing processes and yields in order to maximize our forest resources.

Bamboo:

Bamboo Edge Grain Amber
on Shaker (831)

As a rapidly renewable resource, Bamboo is carefully harvested to enable repeated growth from the same root stalk. This process allows it to reach maturity in a few short years. Naturally grown and harvested Bamboo is a great option for cabinet doors and dovetail drawer boxes. We offer 2 grain options (edge and flat) and two color options (honey and amber). The darker amber color is achieved by heating and carmelizing the natural sugars in bamboo.

Eucalyptus:
Eucalyptus on Dovetail Drawer Box (613)	Eucalyptus is an environmentally sustainable solid wood material that grows to maturity within 14 – 16 years and has a grain similar to mahogany and color similar to cherry, making it a perfect match for projects wanting a high end look.

Beech (European Steamed Beech):

European Steamed Beech in Shaker (831)
Special Rail and Special French Lite Placement.

European Steamed Beech
on Hayes (348)

An environmentally sustainable solid wood material, Beech is harvested under some of the most aggressive forestry guidelines and is a great option based on its strength, beautiful and even color and grain, and abundant availability.

Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF):

Made of approximately 90% wood fibers and 10% resin to hold it all together, MDF maximizes the use of our forest resources by utilizing the residual wood element of forests not used in producing lumber, that could have otherwise ended up in landfills. Our MDF products are offered bare for painting and wrapped with Rigid Thermo Foil (RTF) as part of our Deco-form product offering.

MDF Door (for painting)
on CC620 (620)

Veneer:

Cherry Select on
Emerson (109)

Veneer is cut from a log into sheets in varying thickness down to as thin as 1/40” thick. Allowing you to get the look you want accompanied with an environmentally friendly, recycled wood fiber composite core to offer a truly resource conscious option. Thanks to the sturdy core, Veneer doors are less suseptible to warping than solid wood doors and can provide a consistent color and grain pattern.

Natural Characteristics:

Maple
on Dovetail Drawer Box (613)

Forest friendly consumers can choose our Natural or Standard material grades, embracing the beautiful and natural variations in color and grain commonly found in each species. Embracing natural characteristics allows a tremendous increase in the amount of material that can be used, therefore maximizing our forest resources.

Paint Grade:

MDF Panel / Paintable Hardwood Frame
in Heritage (805) in White Chocolate, Semi-gloss sheen

Paint Grade materials provide the stability of wood but maximize the lumber usage by not sorting for color or grain. Paint Grade options are also available with a Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) panel, a great material for painting due to its smooth surface and resistance to warping.

Reconstituted Veneer:

Qtr. Macassar Ebony Reconstituted Veneer in Aries (93)

FSC Butternut Reconstituted Veneer
on Aries (93)

Starting with timber from environmentally managed forests, high-quality common woods are reconstructed to offer a top quality product with a diverse variety of color, grain, and texture options. The special layering and slicing technique used for reconstituted veneer allows for everything from looks that mimic standard wood grains and colors to wild patterns with colors including teal and lime green. We recommend our Pure Colors Clear finish to protect and enhance reconstituted wood veneers.

Decreased Formaldehyde in Composite Wood Products:

In conjunction with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Decore-ative Specialties is offering composite wood products containing glue with lower levels of formaldehyde. Commonly present in our atmosphere, formaldehyde is a natural Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) and concerted efforts to reduce the emission levels of formaldehyde helps provide a safer environment for us all.

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified Materials:

FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council) Chain-of-Custody certification: By purchasing products bearing the FSC® certified label you are supporting the growth of responsible forest management worldwide. Decore-ative Specialties has been evaluated and approved by Scientific Certification Systems as an FSC Chain of Custody supplier. The FSC claim and necessary documentation for your order will be supplied with your orders invoices and packing slips. A digital copy of our FSC certificate can be attained online under Form & References or by emailing customerservice@decore.com

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design): Currently FSC is the only forestry management system that is recognized by the USGBC’s LEED building certification program. FSC material can help contribute to the Material & Resources credit 7 (MRc7) for certified wood if at least 50% of the total cost of the wood based materials for the building project are FSC certified. Since cabinetry can be a high percentage of the wood based product cost for a building, using FSC certified cabinet components is a great way to contribute to the MRc7 category.

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified Materials

Doors, drawer boxes, and wood moldings are available in FSC certified species:

Hard Maple
Soft Maple
Cherry
Red Oak

Alder
Bamboo
MDF
Additional Materials

Bring us your custom project needs and we will work with you to help accomplish your goals.

NAUF MDF Core
DBS in HG Red (751)

NAUF (No Added Urea-Formaldehyde):

Decore-ative Specialties offers a few No Added Urea-Formaldehyde (NAUF) options for customers desiring products that do not have formaldehyde added during the manufacturing process, but instead use alternative forms of glue. Using a NAUF MDF panel with a hardwood frame is a great option for painted projects. Some of our Deco-form doors are available with an NAUF MDF core.

LEED:

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a broadly accepted rating system established by the U.S. Green Build Council (USGBC) as a benchmark for high performance green buildings. LEED uses a holistic approach to building sustainability by using a point system divided into 5 key areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, material selection, and indoor environment quality. Points can be achieved in the five categories, ultimately leading to one of the desired levels in certification: Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The use of our products alone does not guarantee points will be granted in the listed categories. Using our products along with other eligible materials throughout the overall building can help contribute toward gaining points.

Decore-ative Specialties Material Offering by LEED category:

Materials & Resources

MR 4.1 & 4.2 – Recycled Content (10% & 20% of entire building material cost from recycled materials).
MR 6 – Rapidly Renewable Materials (2.5% of entire building material and product costs must be made from materials with harvest cycle of 10 years or less).
MR 7 – Certified Wood (50% or more of wood-based materials in entire building are FSC certified).

Indoor Environment Quality

EQ 4.4 – Low-Emitting Materials: Composite Wood & Agrifiber Products (Products contain No Added Urea-Formaldehyde resins).
EQ 4.4 – Low-Emitting Material: Pure Colors finish, certified by Scientific Certification Systems with the Indoor Advantage Gold program.

Decore-ative Specialties Material Offering

* Many reconstituted veneers do not utilize NAUF glue at this time.
The core can be NAUF but the actual veneer sheet applied to the core usually contains some formaldehyde.