Our Mission
Our work is driven by a desire to create a better ending for the oldest of Vermont’s trees rather than seeing them discarded because they are too big and “misshapen.” For every tree that we recycle, at least one healthy tree will not need to be taken from the forest and the important role it fills there.
The Problem:
When a tree is removed for safety or health reasons — a diseased elm, a storm-damaged oak, an old maple growing too close to a farm house — it rarely ends up as anything useful. Most are chipped, mulched, or left to decay, releasing the carbon they've stored over a lifetime back into the atmosphere.
Vermont Tree Goods was created to change that.
Wood that would have been wasted.
The Trees:
The trees we work with are often over 100 years old. That age shows up in the wood: tight grain patterns, rich color variation, and the kind of depth that can't be manufactured. These are trees that grew through Vermont winters for generations, often holding deep sentimental values for families and communities, carrying that history in every ring.
Rather than becoming a damaging source of CO₂, they become the centerpiece of your home or space.
Old trees, extraordinary character.
The Solution:
After years of research, we have developed a milling technique that not only allows us to cut the largest of trees but also uses far less energy to do so. The carbon footprint of our furniture is smaller than that of all others. With our focus on efficiency and sustainability, we are the epitome of a “green” business.
To us this is just being conscious in all that we do. For you it means loving your furniture and your planet — smart.
Turning removal into reclamation.
The trees VTG rescues are otherwise landfilled, chipped, burnt as firewood, or left to rot. In each of these cases, they become sources of CO₂ roughly equal to twice their dry weight.
For hardwood trees, this equates to approximately 5 lbs of CO₂ per board foot. Since many of the trees we use hold roughly 1,000 board feet, they can each create CO₂ emissions weighing literally tons if they are disposed of and not utilized as lumber.
The average-sized traditional lumber tree holds 100 board feet of lumber each, the utilization of one of the our trees represents the opportunity to allow 10 or more traditional trees to reach their full carbon maturity. In the US, the usage of trees like ours, therefore, has the potential to reduce CO₂ emissions by 250 billion pounds annually
The Facts:
Trees are 50% carbon and the closest thing to CO₂ absorbing devices that we have, meaning how we view and utilize them is critical for climate stabilization.
Every board foot of lumber from repurposed trees that is used represents 10 pounds of CO₂ that is not released into the atmosphere. The slabs we produce are a part of this CO₂ reduction.
We have developed an innovative sawmill that uses a motor 1/10th the size of conventional mills, yet is able to produce the largest and most valuable lumber ever produced in the US while limiting its environmental impact.
If rescued trees were used in the US, instead of traditional lumber trees that have not yet reached maturity, the country’s monthly CO₂ release would be reduced by 5 billion lbs.
What Sets Us Apart
Salvaged, Not Harvested
Every piece of wood we sell came from a tree removed for health or safety reasons. We don't clear forests to fill our inventory; we recover material that would otherwise go to waste.
Mature Trees, Exceptional Quality
Our slabs come from trees that are often 100+ years old, producing wide, characterful pieces that aren't available from commercial lumber operations. Age and slow growth create the grain depth and figure that make live edge wood worth owning.
Carbon Kept Out of the Atmosphere
When a mature tree decays or is chipped, it releases stored carbon. By milling and finishing that wood into long-lasting furniture and surfaces, we extend its life by decades and keep that carbon locked in place.
At Vermont Tree Goods our passions run deeper than just the environmental impact of our work. With a strong belief in the importance of creating a home environment that is warm and welcoming, we craft furniture of exceptional quality. Our work reveals the authentic “live-edge” of the trees. The qualities inherent in the wood inspire the unique and timeless designs. We use a blend of traditional and contemporary woodworking techniques to produce stunning and solid one-of-a-kind furniture that is second to none.