kidbean

Plywood is made of many sheets of wood veneer that are glued together with their grains going in opposite directions, pressed, then dried. It is less expensive than solid wood, extremely strong and resists warping.

The adhesives used to glue the wood slices to the cores may or may not be eco-friendly or safe. The most common glues are made from formaldehyde, either urea-formaldehyde (UF) or phenol-formaldehyde (PF). Rates of emissions for UF are much higher than those for PF.

For more information, see the Wikipedia entry for plywood, Columbia Forest Products' Certified Wood and Green Guide Product Report - Furniture.

Return to Glossary 

copyright 2012 envegan llc