From an economical point of view, we constantly work on maintaining attractive prices. Our price points will usually even lower compared to many of our European or North American “Shou Sugi Ban” competitors. This is mainly due to the long standing experience to produce high-quality, our scales being the largest Yakisugi manufacturer globally, our logs being sourced internally from own forestry andour lean direct distribution model without intermediaries. In terms of carbon footprint, though it may sound not intuitive, maritime ocean freight is the world’s most carbon-efficient form of transporting goods – far more efficient (and less CO2 emitting) than road or air transportation. The emissions range from ca. 5-10 grams per tonne-km for ocean freigth, while truck transportation is 50-100 grams and airfreight would come at 400-500 grams. In this sense, the transportation from Japan by ship might even come more efficient than shipping Nordic larch timber from Scandinavia to Central Europe via trucks. We are currently supporting a study by the University of Hiroshima to scientifically assess the overall carbon footprint for our products and will publish them when finished.