Since I started the business in 2000 I have always tried to work in the best manner possible for the environment from a lifelong personal commitment. I thought it may be of interest to my customers to explain some of my philosophy on the ethics of cabinet making.
The use of hardwoods to make furniture has been questioned on ethical grounds due to problems caused by deforestation and the shipping of these timbers around the world with its associated carbon footprint.
Well designed furniture from good timber should last for many generations. It is this longevity that justifies the use of slow grown hardwoods in the construction of furniture, and offsets the higher cost of a well made piece of furniture. Mass produced flat-pack furniture, which is poorly made and designed to be replaceable with every change in fashion, is shipped from factories around the world and is destined for landfill in a short number of years.
Given the choice I would rather only use good British hardwoods from sustained forests but unfortunately short-sighted forest management has reduced this important resource to huge forests of fast grown softwood that is primarily used for construction.
I prefer to use timber from well maintained forests, through good supply chains, and avoid using timber from rain forests and politically controversial regions, and would do anything I can to encourage sustainable forestry and a wider range of FSC timbers. Wouldn't it be amazing to see forests of English oak grown for future generations of furniture makers, instead of felled for fir trees and property development.
I also use veneered MDF board for carcassing, panel work and door panels as this decreases the amount of wood used without affecting the structure of the piece. MDF makes an excellent substrate. People are concerned about the use of MDF, but it is made primarily from waste and recycled timbers, has negligible health risks to the end user, and the heat needed in it's production is not as great as kiln dried timbers.
Our primary sources of waste are wood shavings and off-cuts. We have a network of people found on Leeds Freegle who use our wood shavings, including a Leeds chinchilla sanctuary, a potter, several chicken owners and Fortunes Kippers of Whitby. Our off cuts go to several people who have open fires at home.
All of our furniture is packaged in bubble wrap as we can use it numerous times. In the office our letterheads, paper and envelopes are all made from recycled paper and we try to communicate as much as possible by email.