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What Products Are Made From Trees?

Carl Anderson • October 24, 2022

Trees provide a vast array of products, including wood products, wood pulp and paper products, cellulose products, food, certain chemicals, and so much more. Tree products are used in so many ways it will blow your mind.

Products Made From Trees

Forest products play a crucial role in our economy and daily lives, encompassing a wide range of items from paper to lumber and beyond.


If you ever wanted to know all the products that are made from trees, here’s the comprehensive list:

Wood Products

  • Houses
  • Furniture
  • Toothpicks
  • Baseball bats
  • Pencils
  • Paddles
  • Hockey Sticks
  • Fences
  • Floors
  • Wooden Bridges
  • Canes
  • Boxes
  • Coffins
  • Wine corks, which come from the bark of the cork oak tree, are a sustainable and renewable resource.
wooden house made from trees

Photo Credit: SFU Marcin

Wood Pulp and Paper Products

All paper products are made from wood pulp. In addition to these products, various by-products such as particle boards and wood pellets are also derived from timber harvesting, ensuring zero waste. What are they? Pretty much everything you’ve ever used:

  • Books
  • Paper Bags
  • Calendars
  • Cardboard boxes
  • Toilet Paper
  • Tissues
  • Cards
  • Wallpaper
  • Egg Cartons
  • Coffee Filters
  • Paper towels
  • Musical instruments
  • Packaging material
egg cartons are a tree product

Photo Credit: Zeev Barkan

There are also some other, unexpected items made from paper products:

  • Blankets
  • Insulation
  • Diapers
  • Tampons
  • Tanning agents

Cellulose Products

Cellulose comes from trees. And tree cellulose fibers make a ton of different products:

  • Rayon Clothing
  • Cellophane Paper
  • Cigarette Filters
  • Hard Hats
  • Sandwich Bags
  • Adhesives
  • Floor tiles
  • Food additives
  • Helmets
  • Hardhats
  • Twine
  • Eyeglass frames
notebook

Photo Credit: Linus Bohman

Food

Everyone knows that food and certain fruits come from trees. Some of your favorites probably include:

  • Almonds
  • Walnuts
  • Tangerines
  • Apples
  • Plums
  • Apricots
  • Avocados
  • Pistachios
  • Pine Nuts
  • Pecans
  • Bay leaves
  • Cacao
  • Cashews
  • Cherries
  • Oranges
  • Olives
  • Nutmeg
  • Cloves
  • Coffee
  • Cola nuts
  • Nectarines
  • Maple syrup
  • Grapefruit
  • Mangoes
  • Hazelnuts
  • Berries
  • Lemons
  • Limes
  • Additionally, carnauba wax, derived from the leaves of the carnauba palm, is used in products like automobile waxes, shoe polishes, and cosmetics.
cup of coffee

Photo Credit: Camilla Tamara

Chemicals

At this point, you are probably wondering, ‘What isn’t made from trees?’ To be honest, we don’t know. Just kidding, a lot of things aren’t but a lot of chemicals, surprisingly, are made or extracted, from trees. Check it out:

  • Natural Dyes
  • Shampoo and cream ingredients
  • Scented oils
  • Tar
  • Pitch
  • Cleaning product chemicals
  • Deodorant ingredients
  • Fungicides
  • Insecticides
  • Shoe polish
  • Perfumes
  • Toothpaste
  • Hair spray
  • Tape
  • Hair dye

Medicines and Drugs

Trees can be used for both good and evil. Some medicines find their origin in trees and even some drugs:

  • Aspirin
  • Acne Medication
  • Caffeine
  • Cocaine
  • Morphine, Codeine, Opium


The willow tree, for instance, has been used for centuries to produce aspirin and treatments for skin conditions.

Trees Are Incredible

When you really stop to think about what products are made from trees, it can be quite breathtaking.


Right now, the author of this article is sitting at a wooden desk, placed on a wooden floor in a house made of wood.


On top of the desk are a notebook, random pieces of paper, pencils, and a cardboard box (yes, my desk is a bit messy) all made from… trees.



The rubber tree is another significant source, providing latex used in countless everyday items.

You could go down this rabbit hole forever but at the end of the day, a lot of products made from trees are used in your everyday life and you may not even realize it.

tree canopy

FAQs

  • How many products come from trees?

    Over 5,000 products are made from trees. Photographic film, paint, toothpaste, etc. Chewing gum, for instance, is derived from the sap of certain trees such as spruce. If you can think of something, a tree was probably involved in making it.

  • What are trees used for when they are cut down?

    Trees are used for so many things when they are cut down. Of course, the wood is processed before it turns into so many of the products we mentioned above but it can range from anything to houses, furniture, etc.


    Our hope is that no tree goes to waste. We understand that every tree that gets cut down is an overall negative to the environment so we want to make sure that no tree gets cut down for meaningless reasons.

Now that you know everything we get from trees, you might be interested to know more about them. In Central America, the sapodilla tree produces chicle, which is used in gum, showcasing the regional importance of tree products. We cover all kinds of different tree care guides and tree tool guides. Be sure to read our next article on chainsaw…

Before you go...

Now that you know everything we get from trees, you might be interested to know more about them. We cover all kinds of different tree care guides and tree tool guides. Be sure to read our next article on chainsaw...


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carl anderson

Carl Anderson

Carl Anderson is an avid outdoorsman with a keen interest in writing about and reviewing tools. He has over 20 years of writing experience and the only time he isn't feverishly typing away at his computer is when he's outside in nature working on his projects. You can learn more about him here. 

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