ABSTRACT
Tropical Salvage demonstrates that business can adjust its values and practices to become a part of the solution to social and environmental challenges, while remaining responsible to the financial bottom line. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Tropical Salvage is a private manufacturer of distinctive handcrafted furniture made from salvaged, or rediscovered, hardwoods. It has become largely vertically integrated. The company operates timber salvaging operations and designs and builds furniture in Indonesia and markets and wholesales the furniture in North America. Tropical Salvage employees are compensated with benefits and wages 20 percent higher than the local industry average and the company has been instrumental in developing the Jepara Forest Conservancy, which protects land for reforestation, economic opportunity and educational purposes. Tropical Salvage uses only salvaged, or rediscovered, wood to build its line of furniture. So far the company has worked with wood from around 55 different species of trees including teak, acacia, jackfruit, and ingas.
