Wooden chess sets are made of hardwoods, some of which may be the product of cutting down rain forests. MegaChess discourages this by buying hardwood grown on tree farms whenever possible, but there is another more environmentally friendly approach -- the wood from rubber trees.

Rubber trees are hardwoods and grow where most hardwoods grow. Unlike other hardwoods, rubber trees grow quickly, and soon after planting, begin producing rubber sap. The sap stops flowing a decade or so after it starts. At this point, the rubber trees are harvested, but their wood doesn't produce much of the large, straight sections needed for lumber. So, often they're burned.

These rubber tree MegaChess sets replace teak or mahogany with wood that would otherwise pollute the air.

We offer two MegaChess sets made from rubber tree wood. One has a king 7 inches tall, and you can get it with a chess table also made of rubber tree wood. Another is a teak MegaChess set, but with the dark side made of rubber tree wood.