Firths Green Statement

Welcome to our Green Statement page. With the situation of the world becoming ever more apparent in everyone's mind, we at Firths would like to give you a little more information on the implications on wood products. We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously, and guarantee that we will buy quality raw materials from certified sustainable forests, and recycle your old materials that we take away.

Forests are among the most biodiverse and valuable ecosystems on the planet. Biodiverse means a system where different living organisms sustain together in a unique habitat. Forests are so vital for the planet as 70% of all land animals and plants live in these habitats.

Forests also provide a livelihood for millions of people worldwide. Although the world has taken the situation with utmost importance, with most governments bringing in laws regarding deforestation, we are still losing 13 million hectares per year which is equivalent to the size of Greece.

Main Areas of Deforestation

The main areas of continued deforestation are South America, Africa, and south east Asia. Although the governments in these areas have brought in strict rules and laws, they don't have the infrastructure to be able to police this efficiently. So a lot of illegal logging is still rife in many third world countries, but has got much better in recent years. You can see from the pictures below the devastating effects of deforestation.


Before Deforestation	After Deforestation

Rain forest cleared for farming

There are many factors which cause deforestation not just felling the trees to sell for timber, but areas felled for expanding cities, and agriculture. Agriculture has probably the most prominent and detrimental effect on forests. Areas cleared for farming create splits in the forest which leads to the animals in that habitat having to find new territory. With animals being very territorial, new cohabitants are not very favourable, and this leads to fighting, and sometimes death.

Diseases are often spread between groups of animals, and reproduction is reduced greatly. When the cleared area is farmed the land stays in good arable condition, but when the area is left which often happens because of the farmer moving on, or a drop in demand for their products the land deteriorates. The trees that previously covered that land protected the soil below from the harsh rays of the tropical sun. Because there are no trees the soil dries out, and deteriorates to an almost desert like state where nothing can grow in the future.

Success of Sustainability in Northern Europe

Northern Europe has been one of the success stories of worldwide forest management. Europe has put in place very strict guidelines and laws with a large budget dedicated to enforcing the criteria. This was reflected by a recent survey which showed that 80% of Europeans were now very concerned about the environment. There are two main bodies which deal with forest management which are the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC), and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC).

We at Firths are looking to be certified by both bodies in the near future which will further endorse our environmental goals. Europe now has 15 million hectares of forest which 70% are semi-natural, and 98% are covered by a recognised sustainable forest management scheme.You can see below some images of the process of sustaining forests in Norway. The first picture is of young trees being grown in a nursery to shield them from the weather which can often kill young trees. The second image is of trees which are ready to be planted, being planted from the nursery. The third image is of trees between twenty five, and thirty years old, which are now ready for felling for use as timber or paper products.

So this is why we at Firths only use certified timber from European forests in all our products. When you purchase a product from Firths you can guarantee yourself that your not only buying a top quality hand made product, but you are also doing your bit to help protect our environment.