Teak is a tropical hardwood native to the south and southeast countries of Asia. There are three species of teak—Common Teak, which is commonly distributed in India and Indo-China; Dahat Teak, an endangered teak in Myanmar; and Philippine Teak, another endangered teak.

Today, because so much of the wood is endangered, many consumers are choosing to buy environmentally safe teak from certified plantations in Java. Javanese teak harvesting and replanting is strictly enforced by the Javanese government. These plantations grow teak specifically for furniture manufacturing. Java has a vested interest in sustainable agriculture to avoid future damage to the region’s economy.
In fact, teak wood agriculture and teak furniture manufacturing are important to the Indonesian culture and GDP.

Historically

Teak furniture became quite popular during the 40s, 50s and 60s. With such well-known furniture designers as Hans Wegner, Knoll, Haywood-Wakefield, Lane and others manufactured beautiful teak furniture during the eras of Art Deco and Danish modern or mid-century modern.

Today, what could once be picked up for less than $100 per piece are highly coveted pulling in vast sums of money for vintage Wegner dining suites and living room sets in the thousands of dollars. Originally, furnishings of the 50s and 60s that were marketed to middle-income families are rapidly going beyond their price range, as many coveters of these beautiful teak furniture pieces have to wait to inherit these pieces from family members instead of purchasing their own.

Today

Because teak is an endangered wood, there is no proliferation of indoor teak furniture being manufactured as it was 50 years ago. Plantation grown teak is being harvested to make outdoor and garden furniture and some indoor furniture, but it is extremely expensive. For those who can afford it, it’s worth every penny.

Wholesale And To The Trade

For information on purchasing outdoor teak furniture or teak deck furniture for yachts, go online and do a search for wholesale teak furniture or teak furniture for the trade. There are thousands of companies out there marketing beautiful teak furniture to the trade for large-scale purchases.

And depending on which company you work with, some have fair trade agreements or other similar agreements that share some of the profits made from the sale of their furniture back to the plantation growers, thus enabling the continual replanting of teak so that it does not become another extinct species.