Timber Sourcing Statement
Wood really matters to us at Oak Furnitureland, it is after all at the heart of our business. We are committed to using the best possible wood for all our furniture designs. We go to great lengths to ensure that our wood is ethically and responsibly sourced. All our cabinetry is made from solid hardwood which comes from responsible and well managed forests so we know the exact origin of the timber. When you buy your furniture from us, you can be reassured of its provenance.
Our sourcing practices
It’s very important to everyone at Oak Furnitureland that we have transparent timber sourcing. Every single piece of our furniture comes from suppliers with traceable, ethical practices. Our team regularly verifies these practices with site visits and documentation checks. Periodically our sourcing managers go on site to the forest, plantation or farm in question to check in person if the timber used in our products are the exact species and country of origin stated in the corresponding documents.
We have a fully responsible and well managed timber sourcing system across our entire business, this means all our suppliers adhere to strict timber sourcing practices. The result is that all our timber comes from legal and well managed forests via a fully transparent supply chain.
The legalities
The EU's Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan was established in 2003 to reduce illegal logging by improving forest management and promoting trade in legally produced timber. EU Timber Regulations (EUTR) came into force in 2013 as part of the FLEGT Action Plan bannning the sale of illegal timber products within the EU.
Oak Furnitureland are considered as both an operator or first placer and also a trade of seller of timber products. Under EUTR we are required to implement and operate a due diligence system in order to minimise the risk of placing illegal timber or any of its derived products on the EU market.
We have been working closely with one of the European Comission's recognised Monitoring Organisations to reinforce our due diligence system and to ensure we comply with EUTR. EU-recognised Monitoring Organisations have been evaluated by the European Comission to assist operators in meeting their EUTR obligations.
All our furniture is 100% EU Timber Regulations compliant. Oak Furnitureland will not source timber for any of its products that has been:
- Illegally harvested;
- Harvested in violation of traditional and human rights;
- Harvested in forests in which high conservation values are threatened by management activities;
- Harvested in forests being converted to plantations or non-forests use;
- From forests in which genetically modified trees are planted
Where do our materials come from?
We carefully track the origins of all the materials for all of our products, our sourcing team conducts site visits to our wood sources all around the world.
The materials that make up our solid hardwood furniture and beautiful sofas come from the USA, Europe, China, Vietnam and India. Our suppliers' manufacturing facilities are located in the UK, Vietnam, China and India.
Paul Wright, Chief Sourcing Officer:
"We take sourcing incredibly seriously. By personally visiting and monitoring all our suppliers regularly, we can ensure the entire supply chain is transparent. We have established excellent long-term working relationships with our suppliers, working collaboratively with them to build and maintain the best working practices.”
How is the wood traced?
We ask all our suppliers for weekly exportation documents to show specific and fully documented details for all the timber we purchase, such as the wood species, timber source and location of forest. All suppliers provide mapping of their whole timber supply chain to ensure their supplier information is up to date and matches their weekly exportation documents.
Each shipment of wood has a record to show exactly where it was bought from. To reinforce this document check, we also work with a laboratory in Germany to test our wood's DNA to ensure it cross-references with the exportation documents.
Throughout 2020 we will be continuing to train our overseas country teams on EUTR and the importance of traceability for all our materials that we use. We will continue to educate our suppliers about the importance of EUTR and the transparency of our supply chain.
Our commitment
At Oak Furnitureland we rely on wood for our business, and we recognise the positive influence we can have in protecting global forests through upholding responsible timber sourcing practices. We are fully commited to the protection of global forests and the communities who depend on them.
