The Range supports Timber Regulations 995/2010/EU, FLEGT & the Timber & Timber products (Placing on the market) Regulations 2013, as amended, on environmental stewardship and chain of custody, which includes responsible timber procurement practices that promote the sustainability of forests and other natural resources.
The scope of this policy applies to all timber and wood-based products used in;
• The Range branded & unbranded products imported into the UK & EU by The Range.
• The packaging materials used on The Range branded products and products imported into the UK & EU by The Range and affiliates.
• All point of sale (POS), communication materials and items not for resale.
The terms 'timber' and 'wood' refer to any product which is made from timber or is wood based, including tissue, fibreboard and paper. It does not include other forest products, such as palm oil. The UK & EU regulations imposes the need to exercise due diligence when placing timber or timber products on the market. The due diligence system includes three elements inherent to risk management:
1) Access to information 2) Risk assessment 3) Mitigation of the risk identified.
The due diligence system should provide access to information about the sources and suppliers of the timber and timber products being placed on the internal market for the first time, including relevant information such as compliance with the applicable legislation, the country of harvest, species and quantity.
This Policy was issued on 2nd Dec 2020 and will be reviewed annually for accuracy, completeness and relevance. It is The Range policy that all materials in the above scope are sourced in compliance with the following criteria:
1. The Range does not knowingly accept timber and/or wood-based products that contain unknown sources or timber that has been illegally harvested or traded.
2. The Range will not knowingly accept virgin timber and/or wood-based products coming from wood harvested from:
• from sources where high conservation values are threatened;
• from forests being converted to plantations or non-forest use;
• from genetically modified species
• from sources that cause violation of traditional and civil rights;
• Any species listed on CITES Appendices I, II, & III
3. Certified products to either FSC or PEFC standards must remain certified by the producer:
The Range where possible will work with suppliers to progressively increase the proportion of credibly certified and/or verified recycled materials.
Recycled Materials
Post-consumer recycled materials shall be deemed to comply subject to the following criteria:
• The percentage of pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled material shall be declared.
• The Range will give preference to those recycled products with a higher percentage of postconsumer content, where implications to product quality and/or safety do not occur.
Supplier Implementation
Suppliers must have policies in place to:
• Demonstrate full traceability and legality of all timber sources
• Declare the species, and country of harvest for all products containing timber - prior to production
• Demonstrate avoidance of controversial timber sources
• Where virgin material is used, work towards utilising wood from credibly certified forests
• Work towards verification of the recycled timber sources
Credible forest certification schemes:
The Range believes that FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is the most recognizable and accepted global forest products certification system and preference is given to timber and wood-based products certified against the FSC standards. However due available volume and supply of FSC certified timber, The Range also accepts wood-based products certified against the PEFC standards as well as those national certification schemes that have been formally approved and accredited by PEFC.
The FSC has 3 claims. All are accepted
• FSC Pure (100% FSC content);
• FSC Mixed (minimum 70% of FSC content), and
• FSC Recycled (minimum 85% of post-consumer recycled content)
Suppliers should be encouraged to use the FSC or PEFC label on their FSC certified products.
Potentially High-Risk Countries or Regions
Suppliers & in-house departments are required to analyse the risk of their timber sources taking into consideration the following factors:
• Illegal Logging • Forest Conversion • Civil and Traditional Rights Violations • Threatened High Conservation Values • Production of GMO forests
Suppliers sourcing from high risk countries are expected to take additional steps to verify compliance with this policy and must be working towards third party verified or certified sources.
