ethical business, sustainable production
we are very proud to be the uk's first bedmaker to be certified by the forest stewardship council. this means that all our wood is guaranteed, through the fsc chain of custody, to be well managed at every stage - from the forest and harvesting, right through to when we deliver it to you. the fsc do more than you can imagine to protect the lungs of the world - read here. we have happily supported our suppliers in becoming fsc certified too.
we invested more than £150,000 in a bio-mass boiler. this means that our sawdust and wood offcuts are now used to heat our workshop and that has cut our waste to landfill by over 60%. when it comes to varnishes, we now use more efficient spraying technology that means our furniture is finished to an even higher standard, but with 21% less lacquer and no thinners.
we invested even more money in super efficient wood cutting machinery, that makes optimum use of the wood and can detect imperfections, minimising waste. plus sanders that are really efficient, and more!
we recycle all old beds that we collect from customers and old mattresses are pulled apart, so that nothing recyclable is missed. all our waste is sorted and anything that can be recycled - is! we only use recycled paper - the office paper we buy is what we sent to be recycled 6 weeks ago!
we avoid the use of cardboard or plastic packaging because we prefer to wrap your order in blankets for delivery. where unavoidable, all packaging is re-used, then recycled. our delivery system is sophisticated and maps delivery routes to minimise mileage and we keep our vans maintained in tip-top condition to provide a better environment for everyone.
we are continually striving to provide a better working environment for our staff and we operate a profit-sharing scheme. we support an orphanage in india, and closer to home we give free beds to newly re-housed big issue sellers, through the big issue foundation. we provide financial support to a local women's writing group and we give discounts to charities such as women's refuges.
we only use ecover cleaning products throughout the entire organisaton and we also only buy fairtrade tea, coffee and sugar for our kitchens.
all this has been achieved without putting our prices up. we know it's possible to care for the environment while running a healthy business - and that's what we do.
