Environment

Recent years have seen the UK furniture industry flooded by cheap imports. The vast majority of these goods have been made from wood from often questionable sources and then transported thousands of miles.

Apart from the depletion of world resources and pollution, this policy also leads to increased waste due to the high level of packaging used and does nothing to support UK based craftspeople.

Moreover, much of the timber industry abroad is responsible for the thoughtless destruction of forests, affecting the environment and often the dependent animals and indigenous peoples, and goes hand in hand with corruption and human rights abuses. Profits in places such as Indonesia flow to the military, corrupt officials, illegal timber barons and international traders (source: Greenpeace: Good Wood Guide).

All of our products have been made using sustainable, reclaimed, recycled or recyclable materials.

Workers' Conditions

Apart from the environmental issues, there is also the question of workers' conditions. Increasingly, companies in the UK are simply taking their designs to foreign based factories where labour is certainly cheap, but not always ethically sound.

For example, conventional mattresses contain a multitude of toxic chemicals, from retardants used to pass the flame tests to those used in the actual harvesting of materials such as cotton. Not only is this hazardous to the person who'll eventually be sleeping on the mattress, but these chemicals also pose a real threat to both the environment and to the those working in close proximity to them. The World Health Organisation reports three million cases of pesticide poisoning per year and 20,000 unintentional deaths, largely in developing countries among the rural poor who are responsible for the majority of cotton farming in the world.

We only sell chemical free, organic mattresses, certified by the Soil Association. We believe it would be totally hypocritical to offer other, conventional, non-organic mattresses alongside these and in fact stock the widest range of organic mattresses for any retailer in the UK.

Consumer Power

Consumers are now becoming increasingly aware of environmental issues and this has seen a growing number of shops respond by making bold statements concerning the "green credentials" of their products.

In many cases, these companies have no certified proof to back up their claims, with only vague talk of far off, "government approved" plantations and wood that has been "reclaimed from disused mine shafts and packing crates". Some have taken to creating their own grading systems, which, unsurprisingly, give their products high eco-friendly scores, seemingly regardless of their origin, and consumers are being fobbed off with phrases such as "...striving to improve", "our products are sourced ethically, where feasible..."

What good is achieved by a company "aiming to do better" instead of actually making those improvements now? Furthermore, can even responsibly sourced wood still be considered environmentally friendly if it's been transported halfway round the world to reach the UK?

If you're buying wood products in the UK it is always good to ask the salesman where the furniture is made and from where the wood has been sourced. If a satisfactory answer isn't forthcoming then you'd be advised to walk away.

Ethics

	All of our furniture, beds and mattresses are handmade in the UK only using materials from genuine sustainable, reclaimed and recycled sources.
	Many of our products are made locally using locally sourced wood from managed forests, helping to preserve our immediate environment, as well as supporting local trade.
	Thanks to our strict buying policy, our waste is minimal (all furniture deliveries are made with re-useable blankets and no packaging) and our product miles greatly reduced.
	We are also proud to support the work of the Bristol based Forest of Avon by dedicating a tree for every new customer spending £500 or more.