Species we buy, and why
Fast-grown poplar, pine, fir and paulownia from Chinese plantations, plus imported spruce, larch and rubberwood through the Lianyungang timber pool. No CITES-listed species, and none of the tropical hardwoods that create legality risk for you.
| Species | Source | Why we use it | Carbon / logistics note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese poplar (Populus spp.) | Jiangsu / Shandong plantations | Light, stable, ideal for primed frames | Shortest haul of any option we have |
| Pine & fir | Domestic plantation + Baltic import | Frames, fencing, T&G shed walls | Import comes by sea to Lianyungang, then barge |
| Paulownia | Domestic plantation | Gift boxes, linings — 280 kg/m³ | Very fast growth; lowest freight per unit we ship |
| Siberian larch | Import | Untreated premium garden lines | Long haul; used only where durability claim needs it |
| Rubberwood | Import (SE Asia) | Boards, pet furniture | Plantation latex by-product, a genuinely good story |
| Acacia | Import / domestic | Cutting and serving boards | Dense; shipped flat-packed to control cube |
| Moso bamboo | Zhejiang / Fujian | Boards, screens, tableware | Grass, 4–5 year cycle, no CITES issue |
| Thermally modified pine | Domestic / EU partner | Chemical-free garden timber | Heat instead of biocide; class 3 durability |
Claims we can support, and claims we will not make
Chain-of-custody claims are per SKU, not per company. We will print an FSC or PEFC claim on a line whose certificate covers it, and decline to print one that does not.
| Claim | Can we support it? | How |
|---|---|---|
| Legal harvest with traceability | Yes | Species, region and lot documented; geolocation supplied for EUDR |
| FSC Mix Credit on eligible SKUs | Yes, on request | Claim printed on the invoice line with the certificate reference |
| PEFC / national scheme | Yes, by SKU | Chain of custody from the certified pool |
| FSC 100% on any SKU | Only with dedicated timber | +4–7% material; quoted as an option, never a default |
| 'Carbon neutral product' | No | We supply material distances and weights; offset arithmetic is not ours to claim |
| 'Organic-safe treated bed' | No | Certification bodies disagree. We offer untreated larch or modified pine instead |
| '90% recycled content' | Only where true | Some WPC grades carry verified recycled content; solid timber does not |
| 'Plastic-free packaging' | Mostly | Kraft cartons, paper corner cards, no foam on request; liner and desiccant stay plastic |
Waste, finishes and energy
- Offcuts go to optimisation software first, then to three outlets: small-craft goods in-house, chipboard manufacture, and biomass heating for the drying line. Nothing is burned on site.
- Water-based finishes are the default on every interior line; solvent capability exists for two-pack lacquer where a retail programme needs it, and booth emissions are filtered.
- ACQ instead of CCA across all consumer and structural lines. Not because we were told to, but because CCA is restricted in the EU and refused by most Western retailers.
- Carton and sleeve stock is FSC-available kraft from two local mills; we can quote plastic-free packing on request at 2–5%.
- Heat reclaim from the kiln and drying line feeds the spray-booth makeup air in winter.
Design for a longer life. The sustainability argument that is not marketing
The most sustainable garden product is the one that is repairable, so we design for parts. Refillable insect hotel chambers, replaceable shed shingles, planter liners sold as spares, and frame mouldings sold loose so a broken corner does not bin the product.
- Every panel line ships with a spare-fixings bag and a bracket available as a separate SKU.
- Our trellis is slotted-and-pinned rather than stapled, because a pinned grid survives five winters and a stapled one does not. Longevity is the environmental argument here.
- Raised beds are engineered with a replaceable base board, since the base is what fails first.
- Insect hotel chambers are refillable: the buyer replaces a bundle of bamboo, not the box.
- We publish expected service life by construction and treatment class, rather than a number that reads well.
What we would like to build but cannot yet
Two things: a fully circular take-back programme for our own garden timber in Europe, and certified bio-based finishes at a price that does not break a retail shelf price. Both are on our roadmap and neither is on our marketing page today.
Take-back requires either an EU consolidation point or a partner importer with a returns flow — we have begun discussing the second with two Dutch garden-centre buyers. Bio-based coating supply is available at laboratory quality but not yet at a durability we would sign an EN 335 class 3 claim against. When either changes, this page gets updated and dated.