Consumers prepared to spend more for sustainably sourced furniture

UK consumers are expressing concern over the amount of wooden furniture that is sourced via illegal logging and are willing to pay more for their purchase to address this, according to an independent survey by oakfurnitureuk.co.uk.

Two-thirds of UK consumers are prepared to spend more for sustainably-sourced wood furniture, with 83% believing that these choices have an impact on the people and environment in developing countries.

64% of the UK is concerned that the majority of wooden furniture is constructed from wood sourced via illegal logging, however only 1 in 5 actively looks for sustainability certifications when purchasing.

A key issue for consumers surrounds the lack of awareness of wood certification schemes, with 68% of the UK wanting to see more media coverage to highlight environmental impact. Although over half of those surveyed had heard of at least one certification scheme (the most well-known was the Forest Stewardship Council at 44%), only a third of consumers have been influenced by viewing these labels on furniture.

David Harris, Managing Director at Oak Furniture UK, said: “As a supplier that is always looking for ‘greener’ supplies and more sustainable sources for our furniture, we were interested to see how sustainability factors into the consumer buying process.

“We were surprised at the number of customers that are willing to pay more for sustainably sourced furniture, demonstrating that suppliers should prioritise where their wood is sourced.”

Sustainably sourced wood furniture products come from well managed forests where trees are replanted as they are felled, positively impacting climate change and tackling the implications of deforestation.

To view the full results from the survey, visit oakfurnitureuk.co/blog/2014/08/05/sustainable-wood-survey-data/.