Not only are homes in the UK gradually becoming greener, their Asian equivalents could also heading in the same direction now that B&Q is removing all products containing illegal timber from their shelves in China.
With a sizeable chunk of the Chinese population now very upwardly mobile, DIY is big business and B&Q has moved in to fill the need. They have 60 stores in China which, given the one billion-plus population doesn't sound much, but they're the market leader and are expanding fast.
In the UK, B&Q have been improving their green credentials over the past few years by increasing the amount of wood products that come from well-managed sources - with many of their products now carrying the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) logo (those that do are made from good wood). They've done so well that they've topped our garden furniture league table on more than one occasion. (Of course, they continue to sell energy-guzzling and utterly pointless patio heaters when Wyevale and Notcutts no longer stock them, so they still have work to do in other areas). Now they're doing the same with their timber in China, announcing that within three years all of their products will come from certified sources.
So that's another tick on the forest campaign 'to do' list, and the impact of this with be felt much further than B&Q's rapidly-expanding chain of DIY depots in the Far East. Huge quantities of dodgy timber from countries like Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands passes through Chinese mills - in fact, China is the world's largest importer of tropical wood. If a company like B&Q is going to sell only certified timber in China, that's going to send a big message to the timber barons and logging companies whose ill-gotten gains are imported and exported through Chinese ports. And fingers crossed, other Chinese companies will soon start to follow suit.
For a fascinating insight into B&Q's move into China, there's a great article on the Guardian website.
