Lewis | March 2, 2015 | 0 Comments
Last month, a study conducted by the UK Government revealed that 9 out of 13 samples of Chinese plywood that is being imported to the UK contained species of timber that are unauthorised. It even found that only one supplier out of 16 were compliant with EU Timber Regulations (EUTR). This news was obtained from an article found on the Construction Manager website – the magazine for the Chartered Institute of Building. This is a worry from an environmental perspective, as it was found that some of the components of this Chinese plywood were being logged from illegal sources; this includes hardwood found on the African continent. As such, a number of these companies are likely to face sanctions from the UK’s National Measurement Office (NMO) for not complying with the EUTR; investigations and studies are still ongoing.
This revelation followed a suspicion of Chinese plywood being mislabelled, which led to the above inquiry. A method that the FSC use to help achieve their goal of promoting responsible forestry management is the labelling of forest products. The 9 companies at fault were not declaring certain species of timber used in their products. Despite the fact pro-UK timber organisation Grown in Britain declared that it was unlikely that this Chinese plywood was used on large building sites in the UK, it still wasn’t being sourced from those that are FSC-approved, or PEFC-approved. This is nothing more than a gross disregard of regulations.
Here at Oakleigh Manor, we always acquire materials, when applicable, from suppliers that are approved by the FSC, or the Forest Stewardship Council. As a company we always look to better our world; this complies with our environmental and waste policy. Not only this, Chinese plywood is often used in cheaper constructions, due to its cheaper price. However, with this comes inferior quality. Our company ethos is to always encourage continuous improvement, and a way we do this is to use the finest-quality materials at our disposal. If it isn’t FSC-approved, it isn’t a product we want to use to display our abilities.
