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October 28, 2022
“The winners have demonstrated their exceptional commitment to sustainability of their raw materials,” said Alexia Schrott, FSC Italy Marketing Manager and Furniture Awards project manager. “They chose FSC certification to prove that, and FSC recognises their commitment with these awards.”
The official award ceremony took place today in Milan at the ADI Museum, preceded by a roundtable discussion on challenges and opportunities in the wood-furniture sector. Among the attendees were: Antonella Andriani, Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (ADI) Vice President; Omar Degoli, President of the Circular Economy group of the European Furniture Industries Confederation (EFIC); Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile; Jeremy Harrison, Chief Markets Officer of FSC International; Diego Florian, Director of FSC Italy.
Award winners in the three main categories:
Commitment – for sustainable procurement policies for wooden furniture products
Manufacturer: Gała Meble Sp. z o.o. (Poland)
Retailer: T&S Home & Living GmbH (Germany)
Brand – for using FSC brand in a conscious and proactive way
Manufacturer: Kvist Industries A/S (Denmark)
Retailer. llva A/S (Denmark)
Communication – for excelling in promotional activities and advertising campaigns
Manufacturer: Stosa s.p.a (Italy)
Retailer: Pier Import (France)
Special mentions
FSC Manufacturer of the Year
Indoor: Hammerbacher GmbH (Germany)
Outdoor: Euroform K. Winkler s.r.l (Italy)
FSC Retailer of the year
Otto Group (Germany)
“According to our 2021 Global Consumer Research, more and more people are seeking out furnishings made from sustainable sources: eight out of ten people expect companies to sell wood and paper products that don’t cause deforestation. Among those who recognize the FSC label, almost the same proportion – 8 out of 10 – prefer FSC-certified over non-certified products,” said Jeremy Harrison, Chief Markets Officer of FSC International. “The data demonstrate that FSC’s mission to offer sustainably sourced raw materials for manufacturers, retailers, and consumers can really make a difference and contribute to the zero-deforestation strategy promoted by the European Union”.
Alexia Schrott, added: “We are happy to see that the response of the companies has been high despite the difficulties brought by the pandemic crisis first and then by the scarcity of raw materials. It is clear that sustainability, and in particular FSC certification, has become a reference point for producers, retailers, and consumers. An essential element for anyone entering the European and world furniture markets.”
Sustainable furniture in Europe and Italy
Versatile, robust, “warm”, with different species available for different solutions, wood is the furnishing material par excellence. However, nowadays there is still a high risk that wood comes from illegal or unsustainable sources.
Despite the growing number of countries and regions that have introduced regulations banning the trade and use of illegally harvested timber and derived products, tracing the materials back to the forest can be hard because supply chains are often complex labyrinths. FSC’s certification of supply chain standards makes it easy to ensure sustainability of wood, with environmental, economic, and social benefits.
For this reason, the furniture sector has shown an increasing interest in certification. In 2022 there are 5,382 FSC active certificates along the supply chain in Europe (an increase of 4.6% over 2021). Among the countries with the highest number of certificates are Poland (905), United Kingdom (760), Italy (631) and Germany (425)*.
For the fourth year in a row, through the Furniture Awards, FSC has celebrated and promoted companies that are leading the way in Europe with their exceptional dedication to offer their customers products that come from responsibly managed forests.
* Source: FSC International Database, 2022.