FSC Stories from around the world
Inspiration Furniture a Pioneer in South East Asia Tropical Forests
A Malaysia-based molding and garden furniture factory has become one of the first companies in South East Asia to increase its efforts to eliminate illegal logging and improve the management of valuable and threatened forests. Inspiration Furniture Sdn Bhd (SGS-COC-1630) has had sales growth of 10 percent since its Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain of Custody (COC) certification in 2001, and is working to increase the supply of responsible garden furniture in Europe.
The FSC COC system connects responsible forest management practices with consumers. It provides a consistent, international basis for claims about the sourcing of wood/fibre material and products. FSC COC certification is a requirement for labelling products with the FSC name or label.
In just four years of operation, Inspiration Furniture's exports have increased from 250 units in 2000 to over one thousand units in 2004, with an annual turnover of USD 20 million. Currently, 10 percent of its production carries the FSC logo. Products ranging from simple folding chairs to a large extendable table weighing more than 100 kilos, are produced by 300 workers. Garden furniture products are made from various types of tropical hardwood, including Balau, Keruing and Meranti species.
"The FSC trademarks represent a new choice for responsible consumers and the demand for FSC certified garden furniture has grown. The decision for FSC certification was taken because of the growing awareness about environmental issues at the consumer level. We believe our products can play an important role," states Felix Poh, General Manager.
A procurement policy committed to remove all timber from suspicious sources and gradually increase the use of FSC timber has been implemented.
Inspiration Furniture knows the market value of FSC certification, from both the purchasing and supplying sides. The company has bought FSC certified timber from the Deramakot forest reserve in Sabah, Malaysia, where the logs are auctioned. FSC certified logs there sold for a 15-20 percent premium above the price for non-certified logs. FSC products have added an extra 10 percent to the company's turnover and have increased the net profit by five percent.
The differentiation provided by FSC certification was one of the reasons for this growth. "Before FSC chain of custody certification, Inspiration Furniture was fairly anonymous except among its own business circle. After certification, it has received extra international exposure as its name is published in the FSC database," says Felix Poh.
"For some of our buyers, FSC certification was seen as a highly important and strategic move for us as well as them. Our relationships with them have definitely become stronger and tighter. This has allowed us to bring new opportunities to our business and has strengthened our position in the market place," Felix Poh explains.
The challenge of increasing sales will continue to be one of the main issues over the next few months. A new possibility to achieve this goal exists with a new market in Germany.
FSC certified products from IFSB are available in the German market and Inspiration Furniture has received numerous enquires for FSC labeled furniture. "The challenge now is to convert all the enquiries into actual orders," says the General Manager.
As a result of their FSC certification, Inspiration Furniture was selected as the pioneer participant of the Kimpulan Khazanah Hijau (KKH), the Malaysian chapter of the Global Forest and Trade Network. GFTN is a WWF initiative that facilitates market access for local companies committed to responsible forestry, as means to promote responsible purchasing and forest certification.
Inspiration Furniture believes that peoples' attitude towards responsible purchases will be a key part in expanding the market for FSC certified products. The availability of certified timber in the tropics means that the company cannot produce single-species furniture in any significant quantity. According to the company, FSC has been successful in creating the "pull" factor from the end users. The next challenge will be to increase the responsible timber supply in South East Asia and continue the drive for responsible forest management in the tropics.
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