The title of this story reads like a paradox, doesn’t it, and it probably had you in splits too. But it’s actually true you know. Maple Landmark Woodcraft is a Vermont, USA-based toy company that runs on all things local- local business, local banking, local insurance- and even all of their toys are manufactured from woods found locally in Vermont! And astonishingly for an American firm, only 1% of its budget is spent on foreign source item.
What is even more exciting about this company is that apart from using local resources, they also adhere to Vermont’s Land Use Program which requires sustainable harvest of the timber used by the company. Maple Landmark Woodcraft, which uses a very fine quality of the local maple, pine and cherry woods, also donates leftover sawdust and scraps to local farmers and residents to use in their stables. And to top it off, they also use recycled packaging and avoid over-packaging to reduce wastage of resources.
The best thing about this enterprise is that not only are they contributing to local economy (as opposed to sucking off from a third-world country), Maple Landmark also maintain the highest standards for their toys at the same time. Their natural line of products is finished with beeswax or tung oil, or sometimes they are just left natural!
And if you’re still not convinced just check out this Natural Classic Fire truck from the line and it’s just costs $45. Pretty neat and environment-friendly.
Source: Alternative Consumer
