Todd Wills

Long-form content

"Scaling up group and regional certification through shared experiences and collaboration amongst the PEFC alliance”

"Scaling up group and regional certification through shared experiences and collaboration amongst the PEFC alliance”

In the first webinar in our group certification series on the 27th of July, we will provide a global perspective of PEFC sustainable forest management standards and how to fulfill those standards in practice. We will also clarify how smallholders can prepare for group certification using case studies from smallholder certification successes in Laos.

Our final webinar on the 10th

Meeting our certified companies: Suntrade Parawood

Proudly owned and operated by smallholders, Suntrade Parawood processes and treats sawn timber from rubber tree plantations and now supplies PEFC-certified rubberwood after gaining chain of custody certification in February. Suntrade have recognised the uniquely sustainable nature of rubberwood in addition to the surging global demand for this tropical hardwood, and are producing a product that meets the needs of the European market.

We had the pleasure of speaking to Mr. Choong Seang Lim, Gene

Sustainable forest management in natural rubber smallholder communities

The dual concepts of sustainable management of forests and agroforestry - in which a commodity crop, such as the rubber tree, is grown amongst fruit trees, vegetables, timber, or even livestock - are not entirely new to smallholders in Thailand. In reality, community and indigenous management of forests by ethnic groups have been practiced in Thailand for centuries. With the introduction of the rubber tree into Thailand in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these practices largely continued

How PEFC certification can help the rubber industry to meet the ESG goals of a shifting global economy

How PEFC certification can help the rubber industry to meet the ESG goals of a shifting global economy

Natural rubber is truly a wonderful resource - very few materials can match its unique utility and range of properties, and in some cases, even synthetic rubber can’t be used as a substitute (in aircraft tyres for example). It’s in the tyres of our cars and bicycles, the soles of our shoes, and is present in more than 40,000 products that we use everyday. On average, the annual consumption of

Southland Rubber: How rubber tappers reap the benefits of PEFC certification

Southland Rubber: How rubber tappers reap the benefits of PEFC certification

Southland Rubber is a leading global producer of natural rubber, supplying high-quality block rubber, ribbed smoked latex sheets, and latex concentrate products to domestic and international rubber markets for over 35 years. This rubber might be used to craft the soles in the shoes you’re wearing now or in the tyres in the car that you drove to work today.

In order to demonstrate to international rubber buyers their m

Yulex: Changing the game for rubber smallholders in Southeast Asia

Yulex: Changing the game for rubber smallholders in Southeast Asia

Yulex is a company that develops plant-based alternatives for everyday, oil-based products. Yulex uses natural rubber to produce their range of open and closed cell rubber foam and latex emulsion products, which are used as substitutes for neoprene and petroleum-based polyurethane foams.

The story of Yulex rubber started with a post on the blog of outdoor clothing giant Patagonia. A member of their product development team for

Certifications and sustainability governance will soon become a compulsory requirement

Certifications and sustainability governance will soon become a compulsory requirement

Looking around our house or apartment, most of us will see plenty of objects made from wood. Wood is all around us. We touch it, we use it, we see it – every day.

To learn more about the processes behind those wooden items, we spoke to Aiqa Halim, Chief Marketing Officer at furniture and homeware manufacturer The Green Factory.

Aiqa told us about the company’s sustainability journey, the role of certificati

PEFC certification increases our recognition and reliability

After its invention in the 20th century, plastic was seen as a miracle material. Today, we know about the various health and environmental risks it brings.

Not only does plastic contribute to air pollution by emitting CO , microplastics are also increasingly accumulating in the human body through the food chain, causing serious health issues.

Korean company Dongnam Realize found a sustainable alternative in CXP, a new kind of thermosoftening wood made from PEFC-certified wood. Thanks to its pl

Protecting the resources of nature is part of our responsibility

Protecting the resources of nature is part of our responsibility

Have you recently bought a wooden toy for your or a friend’s child? Have you wondered where it came from, and how it was produced?

We spoke to Diem Vo, HR and Compliance Manager at GEUTHER Vietnam, a leading producer of wooden children's furniture and toys, to learn more about the production of their wooden products, and the considerations behind it.

Thanks to their PEFC certification, the company can not only prove the sustaina

When Values add Value: Consumer Preferences for Sustainable Furniture

When Values add Value: Consumer Preferences for Sustainable Furniture

The demand for sustainably sourced wooden furniture is booming. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers' Global consumer insights pulse survey published in December 2021, 51% of global respondents say that when considering a purchase, they factor in whether the product was produced with a traceable and transparent origin.

Another consumer preference survey conducted by the Sustainable Furnishings Council in 2021 found that 67% o

Can Tables and Chairs Help Combat Climate Change?

Can Tables and Chairs Help Combat Climate Change?

All Eyes on the Climate

There is no question that climate change will pose the greatest environmental challenge of the 21st century. Global temperatures are rising, deserts are expanding, and heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires have become more and more common. But we have more than human ingenuity standing as a bulwark against this crisis — we have forests. Forests can help to mitigate the worst effects of climate change, taking carbon out of o

The Future is Circular - Anticipating a Greater Role for Sustainable Furniture in the Circular Economy

The Future is Circular - Anticipating a Greater Role for Sustainable Furniture in the Circular Economy

Every year, almost 20 million tonnes of furniture is thrown into landfills in the European Union and the United States.

That’s because the sector has a very low re-use rate, with just 10% of furniture waste recycled in the EU and 0.3% of furniture discarded at landfills in the USA recovered to use again. We recycle and/or reuse mobile phones, laptops, TVs, clothes, kitchen appliances, househo

A New Horizon for Sustainable Furniture in Southeast Asia

A New Horizon for Sustainable Furniture in Southeast Asia

A new apartment in Singapore furnished with flooring made from renewable rubberwood. A modernist university atria fitted with wooden panels sourced from regenerative tropical rainforests. Stylish, modular cabinets that not only save space in your kitchen and bedrooms, but also help to save forests in Southeast Asia too.

This is what sustainable furniture in Southeast Asia looks like. For many years, PEFC has been actively working toward
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Raising the bar for furniture sustainability together in 2022

Raising the bar for furniture sustainability together in 2022

Despite challenging global circumstances, PEFC continued to work towards a foundation for sustainable furniture in 2022. From building partnerships and links in the supply chain to raising awareness of sustainable forest management at events around the world, read on as we take a look back at 2022 in the Forests Are Home campaign.

In a little over a year, the PEFC ‘Forests Are Home’ sustainable furniture campaign is now home to 15 n