Use and sustainability of wood in acoustic guitars: An overview based on the global market

Since the dawn of humanity, wood has been the material of choice for crafting musical instruments due to its favorable acoustic properties, workability, and aesthetic value. Acoustic guitars are among the most widespread musical instruments worldwide, and today are industrially manufactured by large companies with global markets. This study investigates the use of wood in modern acoustic guitars, with a focus on wood species and sustainability. The websites of the 14 most relevant manufacturers on a global scale were analyzed collecting data on 874 guitars and 4506 components. The purpose of the research is to provide a novel overview of the variety and relevance of woods employed in the sector, of the most common environmental issues associated with their use, and of the strategies adopted by companies to deal with sustainability concerns and to communicate their environmental commitment to the public. The results show that, overall, wood remains the material of choice for acoustic guitars, and a wide number of wood species are used. Sustainability aspects are often highlighted on websites. However, the taxonomy is ambiguous in several cases, and some endangered wood species are used with limited information about preservation. Therefore enhancing the research of alternative wood species and increasing the efforts on environmental commitment and on promoting end consumer sustainability awareness are relevant targets to further enhance the use of wood in a sector that already provides a great valorization of this renewable material.