At FitWood we are committed to three core values: good design, fitness, and protecting the environment. Our Scandinavian designed equipment is handcrafted from Finland’s finest birch plywood. This beautiful wood is strong, versatile, and made to last. This makes it a truly sustainable material to use, unlike the plastic counterparts which are neither biodegradable or eco-friendly. Our equipment looks elegant and feels wonderful to touch, and due to the wood’s strength it will not break or fall apart easily like many plastic products on the market.
We’ve selected Finland’s finest birch plywood to make our ecologically sound Scandinavian designed exercise equipment. Here are just some of the reasons why:
- It feels good: Wood is a natural, durable, and versatile material and has been used for decades in making gymnastics equipment. We’ve selected Finland’s birch plywood because it is renowned for its excellent quality. Due to Finland’s long winters and short summers, the Finnish birch tree grows slowly. This means the wood it produces is hard, close-grained and heavy. It’s this, along with its consistent uniformity, that gives it excellent strength. Birch plywood has a high planar shear strength making it impact resistant and especially suitable for use as gym equipment. The wood is warm to touch which means users are less likely to lose their grip when exercising.
- It’s beautiful: Our products have been designed to work in harmony with your home and complement the Scandinavian look adopted by many modern households. The exercise equipment is aesthetically pleasing and doesn’t need to be hidden. As wood is a natural material it will not break the flow and design of your home environment, but will enhance it.
- It’s sustainable: Our handcrafted exercise equipment has been designed to last a lifetime, making it truly sustainable. The Finnish birch tree is a natural and renewable material. From an ecological perspective the birch is an abundant specie grown in a very natural environment, where biodiversity and sustainability are protected during the growth, harvesting and replanting cycle. The birch makes up roughly 15% of Finland’s vast woodlands and its use is strictly regulated. In fact, Finland’s vast forests are growing two times faster than they are being utilized, making the wood we use truly sustainable.
- Helps to reduces climate change: We are passionate about protecting our environment and that’s why we use renewable materials as much as possible. Using birch plywood helps to combat climate change, because the wood products and living forests bind carbon dioxide for long periods of time. Wood has a natural ability to absorb carbon dioxide, helping to reduce global warming. Crafting our equipment from wood reduces the need to rely on much more carbon intensive and non-renewable materials like steel and plastic.
- Healthier to touch: Our equipment is not only aesthetically beautiful to look at, but it feels wonderful to touch too. Wood is a natural antibacterial material. That is why it is our material of choice. It’s easy to clean and the residue from sweat is not absorbed into the equipment as it is moisture resistant. Plastics may also contain toxins in the form of BPA, PVC, or phthalates. One of the most important reasons our wood is produced in Finland is so that we can make sure no harmful chemicals or practices are used in our manufacturing.
- Reduces stress levels: We believe in bringing the beauty of the outdoors into homes as it has many benefits to our physical and mental well-being. Many recent studies have shown that having wood in our homes has a positive effect on our mood and reduces the level of physical stress we experience. Touching a wooden surface suggests safety and closeness with nature.
- It’s part of our heritage: We are proud of our Scandinavian heritage where we are inspired by nature and design. The vast forests of Finland, with 23 million hectares (nearly two thirds of our land), are the envy of the world, and the raw material we use is one of the oldest and most versatile used by humanity. For more than 100 years Finland has been the leader in sustainable forestry. Thanks to good practices and sustainable forest management, the annual growth of our forests exceeds the amount we harvest. And as a result, today Finnish birch plywood is one of the most advanced wood based panel products and is used by many industries, including our own.
