The Cotswold Company

The story of the wood

The oak used in our furniture is obtained from a variety of sources in England, from land in private ownership through to Forestry Commission forests. The timber comes from sensitively managed areas and each tree has to be felled under individual licence. Our Suppliers timber supply partner tenders for the timber from each specific tree, based on its size and characteristics. It is then received in log form for kiln drying and cutting to size.

When the timber arrives with our Supplier, it is worked by hand by their 2 leading craftsmen into the final designs. The timber is planed, sanded and assembled by hand using wooden dowel for the joints. The oak is finally sealed using nourishing natural English beeswax.

The environmental story

Our Supplier is committed to its social and environmental responsibilities and has a philosophy of minimising any adverse social and environmental impact from its commercial activities. In addition, they are determined to minimise the energy consumption and hence the carbon dioxide emissions from the making of these products.

It is for this reason that only English oak is selected for this range of furniture, where transport and energy consumption is minimised. These items are made in England, employing traditional craft techniques of woodworking rather than energy intensive mass production techniques to produce the furniture.

In addition, our Supplier is committed to undertaking an assessment of its carbon footprint and then to the gradual conversion of its whole product range to carbon neutral status. Their chosen partner in this exercise is The Carbon Neutral Company, www.carbonneutral.com.

They are one of the largest and most respected practitioners in this field. Through them, our Supplier will be working with the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management to complete the carbon footprint assessments. We understand from The Carbon Neutral Company our Supplier will be the first domestic furniture company in the UK to complete such an exercise with them.

The Cotswold Company is pround to launch our first carbon neutral range and work with our Supplier on such an exciting and challenging project.

Take a look at our Carbon Neutral English Oak Furniture.