BETHLEHEM, Pa. — C. F. Martin Guitar & Co. on Monday announced it will hold its first-ever sustainability summit, a brainstorming session of sorts.
The event will be Oct. 9 at Martin's fully solar-powered Commerce Lane facility in Easton, Chief Executive Officer Thomas Ripsam said.
"One hundred years ago, Martin Guitar phased out ivory in the manufacturing of its world-renown guitars," Ripsam said in a news conference at the Martin Guitar Stage under the Yuengling Tent near Musikfest's Plaza Tropical.
"In the 1990s, it was probably the first company in the industry to adopt an environmental policy."
Martin Guitar also was among the first to adopt responsible sourcing of tonewoods, the material used to make the soundboard, or top, and thus, the sound, of a guitar.
"At Martin, as you can imagine, dealing with woods and other precious materials, caring for the environment is really important for us," Ripsam said.
It takes a village
For the event, Martin will team up with companies, experts, thought leaders and practitioners on the topic of sustainability, with the intention of working to mitigate the impact of climate change and come up with ways to operate more responsibly.
And sustainably.
Martin now uses alternative materials in many of its instruments, Ripsam said, and certifies its pieces with the Forest Stewardship Council, which identifies it has been responsible sourcing the woods used in making its world-renown guitars.
Some of the instruments on display on the stage were made with domestically sourced materials, such as the Inception maple.
And also guitars that are 100% plastic-free, such as the Biosphere line, known for its fine art-printed fronts featuring original artwork by Robert Goetzl, cousin of Martin's Executive Board Chairman Chris Martin IV.
"I think the more that we find ways to connect across different companies and thought leaders, it will help us to create more impact."Thomas Ripsam, C. F. Martin & Co. CEO on sustainability
Expected at the summit are representatives from NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants, as well as companies that all play a little role in the topic "organizations that focus on tonewoods.
"We also have an invite to Governor Shapiro's office, so we hope there will be representation from the office as well," Ripsam said.
"I think what's really important is, the topic [sustainability] itself has so many aspects to it, and it's not one company's or one individual's role.
"I think it impacts everybody, and I think the more that we find ways to connect across different companies and thought leaders, it will help us to create more impact."
Martin Guitar once used ebony on its older guitar fingerboards. The alternative is a durable, sustainable, versatile material made from high-grade custom FSC-certified paper infused with a thermosetting resin laid up by hand and pressed into a solid panel.
"It's a big deal because that really helps us to have a third party certify that the tonewoods resourced from all over the world are responsibly sourced," he said.
"That we don't just take, but that there's also an effort to give back."
The No. 1 tonewood is rosewood for Martin, from India and Africa, and also mahoganies.
Most of the tonewoods come from overseas.
"Historically, it developed that way, and so our efforts, we just have to remember that we literally source woods from all over the world," he said.
"Replenishing in those other countries, we work with organizations that have tentacles into these countries, we participate in reforestation efforts.
"We take part in financially supporting local communities in the areas where these woods are grown. We work with third-party experts that know the geographies, that figure out how do we best work with those geographies to not just take but also give back."
Ripsam said Martin has really established itself as a leader in the market space. Making a dramatic shift to sustainable is simply not a good option to keep competitive.
"It takes 80 years to go from seedling to being harvestable. It's just not realistic to think we can just reforest and have this supply guaranteed for long term use."Thomas Ripsam, CEO Martin Guitar
He compared the effort that involves organizations who will help Martin make the biggest sustainable impact to a patchwork of landscapes.
Rosewood grows on coffee plantations, he said.
"So who do you work with there?" he said. "The owners of the plantations. So we educate them. Rosewood is a pretty critical resource. It is used there to shade the coffee plants.
"It takes 80 years to go from seedling to being harvestable. It's just not realistic to think we can just reforest and have this supply guaranteed for long term use."
Martin employs a whole team that works steadily with partners to help keep the supply of woods going for years to come.
Talking the talk
He called the effort to impress upon consumers used to guitars with certain materials that tone is not necessarily impacted negatively with more sustainable materials an educational one.
"We would never jeopardize an instrument's sound," he said. "But sometimes you take that message out there. Several years ago, for us, for Martin, we basically said, we need to make sure that sustainable thinking and mindset becomes just part of our everyday.
"And that's how we communicate, that's how we talk, and I think we're doing that very intentionally now, working with dealers and distributors all around the world, and it's important that all of our partners also can communicate that.
"People have choices. But I would rather work with a company that makes great instruments that is also responsible to the environment.
"That's where sustainability is not a differentiator by just leading with it, but by making it part of who you are."
