Can Composite Shutters from China be Green?

There is a lot of advertising and talk about composite shutters from China being called "Green". Let's explore some of the real facts about raw materials and how shutters are packaged. The first thing that comes to mind when I see these ads is the wasteful packaging that is being used by Chinese companies. You should see the packing material of one import shutter, let alone a full house? There is so much cardboard, plastic and styrofoam that when you haul away the trash it seems to take up more space then the original shutters boxes did. We all know that cardboard can be recycled but how many installers are actually doing this? The styrofoam can be recycled but it is extremely hard to find anyone to take it. The Polystyrene Packaging Council describes Styrofoam as non-biodegradable in landfills. It is not known how long it takes for polystyrene to biodegrade, but the Way To Go group reports that when it is finally released into the environment, dangerous chemicals can eventually end up in groundwater.

Plastic bags are also a source for creating problems for our environment. Not only does it take our limited petroleum resources to manufacture plastic bags but it is estimated that it will take 1000 years for plastic bags to decompose. Is this what you would consider a green product? I guess this is the only way to ship shutters that will travel over 7,000 miles on numerous boats and trucks before it arrives at your home. Our shutters are manufactured locally, delivered by our own trucks from the factory floor to your home. They are wrapped in furniture blankets, which are re-used.

I see ads from companies using scare tactics about using up our forests for the wood used in shutters. Here are some facts about forest growth in the United States. Net forest growth in the United States exceeds harvest by 37%. The forests of the United States contain 170 million cubic feet more volume then they did just 40 years ago. Basswood is growing 3 times faster than it is being harvested. When you buy shutters from Arizona Blinds, you can be assured of basswood that is coming from United States forests that are in better shape than they have ever been. Many Chinese companies are very careful with their wood shutters on listing what type of wood they actually use and where their wood comes from. Composite shutters typically use MDF wood as the core of their shutters with a coating of polypropolyne as the surface. MDF stands for medium density fiberboard and as the name insinuates it is made of wood fibers that are mixed with glues to bond it all together. I have seen companies call the glue "artificial sap" to mislead the customer. MDF in its original state is very heavy and is very flexible compared to Basswood. The MDF is then cut and glued to provide the stiffness and strength required to make a shutter.

The finish of the shutters is made using petroleum products. The entire process of making a composite shutter consumes far more energy than that of a Basswood shutter. Here at Arizona Blinds, we highly prefer the only renewable resource for producing shutters - Real Wood! And doesn’t a piece of rich, solid well built furniture look so much nicer than a piece of furniture purchased off the shelf from a big box store? Ask us why Arizona Blinds wood shutters will outlast any plastic shutter you buy and how we prepare and finish the wood and guarantee them for life! And you’ll be astonished at the price comparisons!