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Using FSC-certified supplies, local shop owners are providing eco-friendly options for picture framing.
Whoever said it wasn’t easy being green wasn’t trying very hard. These days, you can find just about anything that’s “green” or environmentally friendly.
Take picture frames, for example. Local framers are offering numerous selections of FSC-certified or “green” frames for basically the same cost as traditional frames.
FSC stands for the Forest Stewardship Council, a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging responsible management of forests. FSC sets high standards that ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable way. “A simple explanation—the FSC looks at reforestation,” says Linda Anderson, owner of The Frame Shop in Springfield. “They look at regrowth—how long it takes for the tree being cut down to regrow—and if manufacturers replant a tree when they cut one down.”
Framed in Nixa offers FSC-certified products from three eco-conscious manufacturers, including Larson-Juhl, Roma and Framerica. Framed’s selections consider both the materials and the supplies used for framing. “At Framed, we recycle just about everything in our office, from paper to matte boards, you name it,” says store owner Emilie Hartwig.
With the growing demand for wood products and the time it can take for certain trees to grow, it is becoming harder and harder to find wood for their products, says The Frame Shop’s Anderson. “Today, trees are like gold,” Anderson says.
However, it won’t cost you that gold stash to go green with your picture frames. Most FSC-certified frames fit the average price range of traditional frames. But if you like fancier, more ornate decoration on the frame, that will run the price up, but it does on other frames as well, says Anderson.
The benefits of using green or FSC-certified framing materials are similar to using other green products—it’s better for the environment. “It’s a small thing we can do as an industry to protect our forests,” says Anderson.
Local merchants may be aware of the impact framing has on our environment, but the public hasn’t caught on just yet. “A lot of people just don’t have the mindset when they come in,” says Hartwig. “But as more people become aware of what’s available, that mindset will change.”
Get Your Own
You can find FSC-certified framing materials at several 417-land stores, including:
Framed
588 E. State Hwy. CC, Nixa
417-724-1200, framedforyou.com
The Frame Shop
466 W. Battlefield St., Springfield
417-886-0792,
theframeshopofspringfieldmo.com
James Décor
1324 E. Republic Rd., Springfield
417-883-2616, jameshomedecor.com
