Consumer and purchasing agent response to terms used to describe forest products from southeast Alaska

Forest Products Journal, Jan/Feb 2008 by Brackley, Allen M, Barber, Valerie

Abstract

Using information from 204 individuals with an active interest in home building and/or furnishing, this study surveys consumers and purchasing agents and reports their reaction to terms used to describe forest products from southeast Alaska. Regarding terms used to describe the trees or forest products, while 67 percent of the respondents would purchase products from old growth trees, purchasing agents were more likely to refuse to purchase products from old growth forests (negative response from 12 percent of consumers vs. 29 percent for purchasing agents). Eighty-eight percent of respondents reacted positively to purchasing products from trees grown under sustainable yield management. Twenty-eight percent of respondents reacted negatively to the term national forest, while the term Tongass received the highest level of uncertainty. When asked if they would purchase products made from trees cut from a forest of concern to either environmental or preservationist groups, respondents showed polarity with approximately equal yes (38 to 46%) and no (43 to 46%) responses. It was concluded that respondents had an overall positive view of Alaska forest products.

The southeast Alaska forest products industry and the markets for those products have experienced many changes over the years. Prior to 1997, southeast Alaska had an integrated forest industry that consisted of sawmills and pulp mills producing mostly for international markets. Today the industry is composed of small- and medium-size sawmills producing specialty products, dimension, and factory grades of lumber that are shipped primarily to the lower 48 states. During the past 2 years, increasing amounts of production are being dried and planed (Nicholls et al. 2006). Much of this material comes from the smallest mills and is sold locally in Alaska.

A recent study of Alaska forest products producers (Thomas et al. 2005) indicates that making sales and locating new markets are major concerns. These concerns suggest the need for an industry-level marketing and promotion program to stimulate demand and increase sales of products. In addition, research at the Ketchikan Wood Technology Center (KWTC) indicates the lumber products produced from the region have superior strength characteristics and relatively high yields of strong material (high E grades), making it suitable for use in engineered products such as glulam and truss applications. This research effort has resulted in new grading rules for Alaska softwood and grade-marks that brand the lumber as a product of Alaska (Western Wood Products Assoc, 2005).

Many of the properties reported by the KWTC efforts result from tested lumber being produced from old growth material. This material, produced from large, slow grown logs with a high number of growth rings per inch, is typically found in the coastal rain forests of the Pacific Northwest. The major source of raw material in the southeast area of Alaska is the Tongass National Forest. Old growth products are often subject to criticism by environmentalists, posing further challenges to marketing forest products from Alaska. Articles in Sierra, the monthly publication of the Sierra Club, are noted as examples of the concern (Hattam 2001, Gulick 2001, Snell 2002, Brewer 2003).

Some environmental groups support "forest certification" to guarantee that forest management and harvesting systems are conducted in an environmentally acceptable manner. Recent research focuses on consumer willingness to pay more for certified forest products (Vertinsky and Zhou 2000, Laroche et al. 2001, Juslin and Hansen 2002) and several major building supply and home improvement retailers have started to offer certified products. Land managers and producers in Alaska have given some consideration as to how products from National Forest lands might become certified. While researchers have tested the hypothesis that consumers will pay more for certified products, little research, however, identifies the level of knowledge that consumers have relative to certified products and their willingness to purchase such products.

Given the national level campaigns by wilderness advocating organizations and preservationists to convert remaining old growth areas on the national forests, especially the Tongass National Forest in Alaska to wilderness areas, it is logical to ask, "Do consumers of forest products have a negative view of products produced from the old growth trees in national forests, specifically from the Tongass National Forest?"

Because of these issues, marketing forest products from southeast Alaska is challenging. Alaskan producers need to know how potential consumers and purchasing agents will react to the total range of words used to describe material characteristics and the harvest location for the products produced from the timber resources of the region. This project aims to determine how purchasing agents, consumers and other informally classified groups of people react to terms that might be used to describe forest products from southeast Alaska and, in particular, from the Tongass National Forest.