Retail surgery: Can we compete with the biggest retailers when it comes to marketing ourselves on our sustainability policies?

Furniture retailer Barker and Stonehouse has eight stores and an ecommerce site, and is a co-founder of a sustainability project in Indonesia that puts many larger retailers to shame.

It provides the perfect example of a smaller retailer that has punched above its weight in terms of the sustainability story it has to tell.

Barker and Stonehouse managing director James Barker says that the Trees4Trees project came about because the company wanted to ensure a continuous supply of the wood its suppliers use to make the products it sells. The project snowballed from there and other suppliers have become involved. It has created a point of difference for staff to mention to customers.

Since 2008, more than 1 million trees have been planted and more than 12,000 farmers have been trained to maintain them. Barker and Stonehouse has seen a 25% increase in the value of sales of its Trees4Trees range in the past year.

Barker says it is easier to get involved with this type of project if you have relationships with manufacturers on the ground overseas, as Barker and Stonehouse does.

“One producer came up with the idea and set up the local links and did a lot of research,” he says.

With many local manufacturers buying into the project, it has not become a huge cost to the retailer.

He continues: “Each piece of furniture has a unique number which the customer can tap into the Trees4Trees website to see where the next plantings will be. It’s all part of getting people interested, and so it’s not just a label.”