Now in its third year, the Greenpeace Garden Furniture campaign has been shaking up retailers and manufacturers alike and resulted in sweeping changes to the industry.
The annual league table have shown who's good and who's bad, giving 'A' ratings to those retailers stocking Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified furniture or who are working with forests towards FSC certification and sending those whose shelves are filled with timber from trashed rainforests to the bottom of the class. In addition, the Garden Furniture Guide has given customers the ability to easily find FSC-certified products and to avoid retailers whose timber policies are distinctly lacking.
Some retailers might think we've rained on their barbeques but others have been happy to jump on board, change their buying policies and rise up the league like the mercury on a hot summer's day.
2004
The campaign began in May 2004 when our research revealed that well known high-street names as Asda and Marks & Spencer were among the worst offenders, selling outdoor goods made timber from the last remaining rainforests of South East Asia.
Following an expose in the Independent and the publication of our league table, Asda and Marks and Spencer responded by implementing a policy of sourcing garden furniture only from environmentally and socially responsible sources, such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). As a result, Asda's range for 2005 was from 100 per cent FSC certified sources.
2005
A further investigation in Spring 2005 exposed Wyevale, the UK's largest garden centre chain, for also sourcing its timber from the last rainforests of South East Asia. Illegal and destructive logging in the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia is driving critically endangered species such as the orang-utan to the brink of extinction.
The company was also purchasing timber from Burma, helping to fund the country's brutal military dictatorship. Over the Easter weekend, Greenpeace activists visited 60 Wyevale stores across the UK to expose the company's purchasing practices to its customers and demand that they change their policy to one of selling only FSC-certified garden furniture.
As a result, Wyevale committed to stop buying timber from Burma and are now working with the Tropical Forest Trust to implement a new timber policy that will eliminate illegal and destructively logged timber from their supply chain and move them towards only using timber from well-managed forests.
2006
With the launch of the latest league table, we've been able to show whose policies have improved over the last 12 months and whose haven't. Since the campaign began, real progress has been made with many retailers either stocking 100 per cent FSC certified products or working hard towards achieving that goal and rocketing up the league table as a result.
Of course, there's still room for improvement and while garden furniture made from illegal or destructively forested timber is still on sale, customers need to check carefully and make sure they aren't enjoying the great outdoors at the expense of ancient forests around the world.
If you're thinking of buying any garden furniture, check the Garden Furniture Guide to see whether the sun lounger you've got your eye on is safe to buy or on the danger list. Keep an eye out for the FSC tick tree logo as well - it's the only way to be sure your timber has come from an environmentally and socially responsible source.
