CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Woodworker Bart Potter holds up a sample of koa, left, and the nearly identical imposter Australian blackwood, right.

The knotty problem
of faux koa

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By Lyn Danninger
ldanninger@starbulletin.com

Koa, Hawaii's most famous and valuable native wood, is under attack.

But not from termites. In recent years, koa imitations have been hitting the local market, much to the concern of those who make their living working with the wood.

The imitations are substantially cheaper than the real thing -- perhaps as little as half the cost. Koa flooring for example, costs about $30 a square foot, while an Australian relative retails for about half that amount.

As for the consumer, experts say it's easy to mistake one for the other. Even among the experts, there can be disagreement.

There are many grades of koa, from a lackluster defective grade to very high quality presentation characterized by a curly grain, said Bart Potter, a local woodworker who works with koa as well as other woods.

"Koa tends to be a relatively circular tree instead of so buttressed," said Steve Smith, president of Hawaii Forest Industry Association. "It's the attribute of the wood curl or the wild sort of patterns, things that make a piece of wood distinctive as opposed to relatively uniform. There's also a slight difference in color."

Potter said he has no problem with other woods of similar appearance, now mislabeled as koa, being sold. There can be pieces every bit as beautiful as koa, but they should be correctly identified, he said.

"I'd be very happy if every bit sold is identified by its genus and its species name," he said.

For Hawaii's koa, the correct scientific name is acacia koa gray.

The wood causing most of the concern is known as acacia melanoxylon or Australian blackwood. It comes from trees grown in Australia and New Zealand and is often sold under the names "kiwi koa" and "koala koa." It has also been referred to as "South Pacific koa," said Andrea Gill, executive director of the Hawaii Forest Industry Association.

For example, last summer, a New Zealand furniture manufacturer exhibited products at Costco locations during one of the company's periodic roadshows.

Although the furniture was advertised as koa, the wood used was actually Australian blackwood.

There were complaints from the association and an investigation by the state's Office of Consumer Protection. The office concluded that using the name koa for anything other than Acacia koa was misleading and deceptive. Signs advertising the products were subsequently changed.

Nevertheless, the imitations persist in everything from furniture to flooring, Smith said.

To deal with the problem, the group has introduced legislation to try and protect the koa name.

Senate Bill 2518 would require that items represented to be koa wood actually contain Acacia koa wood.

Historically, it's been common for wood sellers to accord names other than the botanical names to their products, both Smith and Gill said.

"There is a tradition for labeling wood for something that will sell and something that tries to describe its characteristics," Gill said.

Hawaii is no exception.

In fact, when Hawaii's koa products were first introduced to the world, they were originally referred to as Hawaiian mahogany, Smith said. It was thought that because mahogany was a premium wood, the name would add a certain cache.

"They were trying to get into the marketplace by referring to it as part of a more prevalent world-class species," he said.

Apparently, the move worked because over the years Hawaii's koa has gained a world-class reputation. According to surveys done by the association, 73 percent of mainland visitors mentioned koa when asked what types of woods are grown in Hawaii. For local residents, 83 percent mentioned koa when asked the same question.

But familiarity does not necessarily translate to awareness and that's what the association is concerned about. Most surveyed could not identify the wood in a lineup of different woods.

"When it comes to confusing the customer and the impact on the folks who rely on it for their livelihood, then it's a problem for us," Gill said. "Right now if a product is marketed using the word koa we feel it takes the cache away from acacia koa that has been hard won for 100 years."

Wood facts >> Acacia koa grows only in Hawaii. >> Koa from different locations in the Hawaiian Islands looks different. >> A close relative is acacia melanoxylon, or Australian blackwood. It also grows in Hawaii. >> There is currently no labeling requirement for koa. More info: >>Check with Hawaii Forest Industry Association at (808) 933-9411 or visit the association's Web site at www.hawaii-forest.org.