In recent years, hardwood floors have come to be a popular aspect of remodelling in homes and businesses. Hardwood is easy to clean, hygienic in comparison to carpet, and looks beautiful. Although the trend is making houses across the world look prettier from the inside, it’s killing our environment on the outside.

Consumers are often in the dark when it comes to knowing where the wood has come from and how it has been logged. The wood could have come from the Amazon or South East Asia where there are mass quantities of trees that absorb the main green house gas, carbon dioxide.

Retailers and importers can put a stamp of sustainable approval on some ethically logged woods but the price gap between eco friendly wood and cheap wood is so large that consumers often have a difficult time splurging for the more ethical choice.

As of today, the EU has no law protecting illegal logging products from being imported. However, the difference in price between woods is going to change in the future according to the EU environment commissioner, Stavros Dimas.

Dimas plans to propose a plan by the end of May which will require importers and buyers to keep track of where the wood is logged and how it is imported. The regulation would force the EU to stop the buying and selling of illegally logged wood.

Companies would be certified by key organizations that set up ethical standards for imported wood, such as the Forest Stewardship Council and the FSC.

Authorities suggest that it is an important industry to regulate if governments are serious about fighting climate change. Deforestation is responsible for one fifth of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Big furnishing companies such as IKEA support the regulation because it will reward companies who strive to sell ethical products and penalize those who don’t comply with the regulation. IKEA hopes to make 30 percent of the wood products they sell comply with FSC standards by the end of next year.