Green

When Highland Craftsmen began in 1990 green was a color. Our commitment to sustainability is not a marketing gimmick. It is simply what we do and always have.

Bark used in the manufacturing of Bark House® brand shingles is made in an all-natural, all-solar powered plant known as the great outdoors. It takes about 40 to 60 years to grow a mature yellow poplar tree.



Raw Materials
Yellow Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) trees grow in a region of the Appalachians that is certified by the US Forest Service as Sustainable. Certifications are available through Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Association. HC sells FSC, PEFC and SFI certified Bark House® shingles as well as FSC Controlled wood. HC only accepts unprocessed bark from loggers trained in sustainable land management practices. In 2009, HC sponsored training sessions for land-owners and loggers in sustainable forestry certifications. FSC, SFI and PEFC as well as NCSU and other professional forestry representatives participated in the training. This training session earned HC the Green Innovation Award from the NC Department of Science and Technology. We verify the source of all of our raw bark material. 90% of our materials come from a 100 mile radius and the remaining 10% comes from with in 500 miles. This is the only ingredient that goes into making Bark House brand shingles. The bark HC uses is a by-product of the forest industry. No tree is cut just to harvest the bark. The tree is being cut to make plywood or furniture at mills. The bark that HC uses would have been discarded or ground into low-grade mulch but is instead reclaimed for a high-grade shingle siding.

Resources and Manufacturing
This is where HC really shines. You know our commitment to quality, but this is the point that our Cradle to Cradle certification verifies that bark shingles are not created equal when it comes to green. Aside from the evident use of a 100% natural reclaimed product, HC uses no water in the manufacturing of Bark House ® brand shingles. The majority of energy used to manufacture Bark House® shingles is human energy, wielding hand tools. The small amount of grid electricity used is off-set with renewable energy credits. This year we will install solar panels to run our kilns and perform energy upgrades that will increase the efficiency of our kilns by 40%.

Reduce Reuse Recycle
Bark House® shingles require no paint, stain, sealers or other chemical treatments. They are maintenance-free for the life-time of the shingle. This reduces expenses, environmentally caustic agents and raw material usage because the shingle lasts up to 80 years. We have never and will never recommend the usage of glues or caulk for the installation of the product.

The small amount of waste generated at HC from the manufacturing of Bark House® shingles is all natural and biodegradable. The waste is used as fuel for other industries. At the end of their lifetime, the nails can be pulled and the material ground as mulch and returned to the earth, completing a cradle-to-cradle life cycle.

Cultural Context: The bark shingle has been a part of the NC Mountains for over 110 years. It relates to fine living and simpler times. Bark shingles reflect a long standing desire to retreat to the deep woods and connect to nature. The style is a part of the NC mountain fabric of life. This is a cultural and architectural reclamation story.

Social Context: Development of the NC Mountains is expanding quickly. Our population is expected to continue to surge. Building with green, indigenous, building products that are historically appropriate to the area and create more harmonious, balanced living spaces is socially responsible.

Green Economy: Buying local creates local jobs. It avoids trucking in products from distant areas. It places the power of observation at the scene production. You can see how your shingles are being made. Be sure to ask any manufacturer what green practices they employ and if they use local materials. Not only are the jobs HC offers green collar, they cannot be outsourced to other locations. Why? Yellow Poplar has a specific region that it grows in. According to the National Forest Service, Yellow or Tulip Poplar “is most abundant and reaches its largest size in the valley of the Ohio River and on the mountain slopes of North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia. The Appalachian Mountains and adjacent Piedmont running south from Pennsylvania to Georgia contained 75 percent of all yellow-poplar growing stock in 1974.” In our company alone, we have provided jobs to nearly 700 local vendors, which is pay that did not exist before we created this industry. Read more in Bark House Style: Sustainable Designs from Nature. If you can’t buy local, please consider buying American Made.