Clearwater, FL — SproutWorld is the maker and global patent holder of the world’s first plantable pencil. Developed by MIT robotics students, Danish entrepreneur Michael Stausholm saw the invention’s potential and purchased the patent and rights in 2013. Since then, the company’s mission has been to inspire individuals and companies to have a more sustainable mindset. Its plantable products symbolize possibility, an easy way to practice sustainability in a throwaway culture. …The SproutWorld™ FSC® Pencil is crafted from FSC®-certified wood and features a biodegradable cellulose capsule at the end that’s filled with seeds ready to sprout when the pencil is too short to use. Koozie Group offers five seed options: basil, carnation, cucumber, daisy, and forget-me-not. Koozie Group will only be selling SproutWorld™ pencils in the US market.
Having already forced Colombia to accept deportees by threatening a 25% tariff, President Donald Trump is readying the same move against Canada and Mexico as soon as Saturday. But this time, the stakes are higher and many economists surveying the possible damage doubt Trump would be comfortable with self-inflicted wounds from the tariffs. Trump has repeatedly insisted that tariffs on Canada and Mexico are about illegal border crossings and the smuggling of fentanyl. But the Republican president is also motivated by the idea that tariffs would force other countries to “respect” the US. …The economics division of the insurance company Nationwide estimated that Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico would increase inflation by as much as 0.5 percentage points and pull down growth by 0.7 percentage points. The analysis noted it did not “account for potential retaliatory tariffs from Canada or Mexico, which could amplify the deleterious impact.”
President Trump said, “We don’t need Canada to make our cars. We don’t need their lumber because we have our own forests,” he said. “We don’t need their oil and gas.” Mr. Trump is wrong on all three, but we’ll focus on lumber. The U.S. doesn’t produce enough lumber to meet domestic demand and thus imports about a third of the softwood used in home construction, mostly from Canada. …Mr. Trump’s tariff threat has created uncertainty for lumber wholesalers and contractors that could delay rebuilding. The U.S. can’t ramp up lumber production in the near term to meet domestic demand, so contractors will have to eat the tariff cost on lumber from Canada or import more from other countries, which would be expensive. If Mr. Trump wants to increase U.S. lumber production, he could open up more federal land for logging. …More tariffs will punish Americans trying to rebuild. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]
Trends in many framing lumber markets were unchanged amid persistent uncertainty regarding tariffs and frigid temperatures across much of the US. …Western Canadian producers sold cautiously while awaiting clarity on potential tariffs. Buyers had few immediate needs and were content operating with lean inventories despite the threat of volatility. Prices were little changed in overall dull trading. Lumber futures tracked a similar course in terms of interest, but downside was evident as the large premium in the front month eroded. The board fell each day week to date. Meanwhile, subfreezing temperatures across the South and historic snowstorms along the Gulf Coast brought Southern Pine trading to a near standstill. Traders operated with widely diverse views of whether President Trump’s threats of tariffs of up to 25% on Canadian imports as early as February 1 will actually become a reality.
Volumes of OCC (old corrugated containers) and mixed paper are shifting with societal and economic trends, industry experts said during a paper industry update webinar presented by the Recycled Materials Association. Box shipments in 2025 are likely to get off to their usual slow start, said Ryan Fox, at Bloomberg. …For full-year 2025, Bloomberg estimates box shipments at 385 billion square feet and more than 31 million tons, an increase of 0.5%-1% over 2024 levels. …Fox added, paper company executives have largely said they don’t see “any observable things happening in 2025 that are going to cause a major inflection in demand.” …TetraPak makes the case for poly-coated paper. …Graphic Packaging provides update on Waco mill
PORTLAND, Ore. – The United States Forest Service (USFS) is currently taking comments on its proposed changes to the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) through March 17. The NWFP dates back to the mid-1990s, serving as the blueprint for conserving forests and wildlife habitat along the West Coast. It covers over 24 million acres managed by the Forest Service and other federally managed lands, spanning from California and up through Washington. The proposed amendments intend to provide an updated management framework that incorporates best available scientific information and current conditions in order to better address the social, economic, and ecological changes experienced over the last 30 years. The proposed changes outlined in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement focus on themes of fire resilience, economic benefits, and forest stewardship, with Tribal inclusion and adapting to changing conditions interwoven throughout these themes.
In a brown dirt field, wet from irrigation and washed in early morning sunshine, a curious metal contraption moves like a mini tractor. As large as a love seat, and set on caterpillar tracks, the machine hums and zaps as it rolls at a snail’s pace over rows of small pines at the U.S. Forest Service tree nursery in Coeur d’Alene. “This machine can potentially save us a half million dollars annually in manual labor costs across our six nurseries,” said retired Forest Service Senior Research Scientist Kas Dumroese, M.S.’86, Ph.D. ’96. The machine, a weeding robot developed by this year’s University of Idaho robotics team, is designed to kill weeds in the nursery’s seedling beds. The team is comprised of graduate and undergraduate students and is based at the North Idaho College campus in Coeur d’Alene.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana produces 70% more forests than it is cutting down. The Forestry Association is trying to encourage industry to utilize those resources, including renewable fuel makers. The state has been working on reforestation closely since the 1940s when the issue of losing critical timber came to a head. With paper mills closing up shop over the years, Louisiana Forestry Association Executive Director Buck Vandersteen said the state is nearing a forest level that will be hard to manage against disease and wildfires. Vandersteen talked about four mills that are in the works of opening in some of the northern parishes in the state. Those companies harvest the larger trees for hardwood. Smaller brush and trees offer an opening for the biofuel industry to thrive. …With the Trump administration … undoing the push towards renewable energy, there is a question of how this will impact the industry in Louisiana.
Controlled burns are a key to Georgia’s strategy of preventing the kind of wildfires that are devastating the Los Angeles area… The fires in LA, fueled by historic drought and powerful Santa Ana winds, have raised questions about the vulnerabilities of other communities, particularly as human development spreads into wildlands. More frequent and more costly natural disasters, such as wildfires, have also contributed to surging home insurance costs nationwide. …Georgia lately has been averaging about 1,200 wildfires a year — a historical low, said Johnny Sabo, director of the Georgia Forestry Commission, which issues permits for controlled burns under proper conditions. He credited the state’s overall response and management for preventing most of those fires from getting out of hand. In Georgia, more than 90% of the state’s woodlands are in private hands, including commercial timberland that generates billions in economic impact each year, according to the forestry commission.
Georgia is the nation’s top forestry state, grappling with overproduction and the aftermath of severe storms which damaged timber supplies. Industry leaders and policymakers are turning to sustainable aviation fuel to boost the industry, create jobs and reduce carbon emissions. Sen. Larry Walker, R-Perry… said the growing demand for sustainable aviation fuel from companies like Delta Air Lines highlights its potential. However, he emphasized expanding production requires strategic federal policies and research to ensure long-term growth. “To invest in a facility that manufactures SAF, it’s a huge investment. It’s a long-term proposition,” Walker stressed. “We need some certainty out of Washington what the public policy is going to be, what the incentives to create this industry are.” …Walker added state lawmakers plan to introduce bills during the 2025 legislative session to support forestry innovation and expand sustainable aviation fuel production in the state.
