Do You Know Where Your Garden Furniture Comes From?

Duchy Timber's log park contains sustainably sourced timber from Cornwall, Devon & Somerset.

With modern global trade and the UK’s abandonment of manufacturing, your garden furniture could come from anywhere. Some places a lot less reputable than others.

Through global industry accreditations such as Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), there are ways for you as a consumer to make a more informed choice when it comes to purchasing your new wooden garden furniture.

Cornwall and Devon benefit from huge areas of woodland and luckily has a well-established forestry and timber industry that can not only sustainably manage these reserves to high standards that are globally-recognised, but can also process that harvested crop into high value products for construction and agriculture as well as your home & garden.

Obviously, timber from your local community, instead of timber that has been shipped thousands of miles around the world, has far better environmental credentials. But local timber is not just better for the environment, it also gives you piece of mind that it is benefiting ancient local industries and trades. Just like the minced beef for your family’s spaghetti Bolognese this Saturday or the milk on your corn flakes this morning; buying local is good for you, your community, the local economy and the environment.

In 1958, the Duchy of Cornwall set up a sawmill at Downend near Lostwithiel. Now owned by a forester with more than twenty years industry experience, the sawmill is now one of the largest in the south west and is the beating heart of Duchy Timber Limited. Duchy Timber garden furniture, gates and fencing products are made from wood that is sustainably felled within Cornwall, Devon and Somerset and are handmade by experienced craftsmen using traditional techniques.