As part of The Fellowship of Acoustics, I’ve had the privilege of visiting some truly inspiring places in the guitar world, but nothing quite prepared me for our most recent trip to California. The journey began in Ontario, where we visited the West Coast Arborists (WCA) to witness first-hand how Taylor Guitars is reshaping the future of sustainable guitar production.
WCA’s work is vital. They’re helping Taylor source urban wood, the most prominent being Shamel Ash (also known as Urban Ash) from trees that would otherwise be discarded. Many of these trees are removed from urban environments because they are diseased, dying, or damaged beyond repair.
Instead of allowing these trees to be wasted, Taylor transforms them into guitars—adding a unique character to each instrument, while helping the environment by reusing materials that would otherwise go to waste.
After the WCA visit, we made our way to El Cajon, home of the Taylor Guitar Factory, to see the magic behind these Urban guitars. Walking through the factory, it was clear that Taylor isn’t just a guitar company; they are pioneers in making a difference in the world of sustainable manufacturing. They’ve perfected reducing waste to a tee, for example; using their own leftover tonewoods to supply their in-house canteens with cutlery and cutting boards for their employees to use. They even showed us how the sawdust gets collected and re-used every day.
What really stood out to me during our visit was the way Taylor manages to make sustainability an integral part of their DNA, while also creating beautiful, high-quality instruments.
It’s a story I can’t wait to share with you in our short documentary Urban Wood, where we dive deeper into Taylor’s partnership with WCA and explore how they’re leading the way toward a more sustainable guitar industry.
A big thanks to Andy Powers, Scott Paul and ‘Big’ John Mahoney for being integral parts of this short doc, and for inspiring us endlessly in that short little week in California.