HJ Berry

Press Release

July 08 - A Long Term View To ‘Green’ Furniture

The unique business formula at a historic Lancashire furniture maker - including the creation of woodland 

made up of 20,000 native trees on its factory site - is putting it in good shape for the future.

 

It will be 70 years before the wood grown in HJ Berry’s mini forest can start to be used to make furniture, 

but the company believes the wait will be worthwhile. HJ Berry - believed to be Britain’s oldest chairmaker - 

already has a number of green policies in place, which include powering the factory’s drying kilns and 

heating system with offcuts from wood used to make furniture.

 

The company first started to invest in a sustainable approach some 20 years ago – long before it became 

part of today’s corporate social responsibility.

 

Under the guidance of Andrew Berry, the fifth generation member of the Berry family in the business, 

work started in 1994 to plant 17 species of native British trees on 20 acres around the manufacturing site – 

located in the picturesque village of Chipping in the Forest of Bowland. Today, Andrew continues to 

develop the company’s sustainable activities, working closely with the company’s recently-appointed 

managing director John Woodruffe, to blend a sustainable approach with good business practice.

 

Andrew said: “Britain has lost the culture of working the woods and we hope to bring that back to life. 

The benefits are significant, not just to the environment, but the economy and social fabric of 

Britain in general.”

 

Word of the company’s exceptional green credentials is starting to spread. Sustainability-savvy buyers 

have driven an increase in sales of commercial and home furniture, such as the Lancashire Woodlands 

set - made purely from wood grown in HJ Berry’s home county – by 25 per cent in the last 12 months alone.

 

HJ Berry’s furniture is made using timber from carefully selected renewable sources – with the vast majority 

from Britain and only a small amount from trusted, sustainable forests in Europe. Tropical timber is never used.

 All trees that are used are from forests that are grown in perpetuity. New trees are continually grown in their 

place – a cycle that provides the best habitat for wildlife.

 

Then, for every piece of furniture made, HJ Berry plants a tree in the British countryside, to sustain the 

broadleaf woodlands of oak, birch and ash, either in their own woodland, or through the donation of trees to 

groups such as woodland trusts.

 

As well as a pro-active approach to the environment, HJ Berry helps to support the social needs of the area, 

including the provision of low rent housing for fifteen families - all current or retired employees - located in the 

village of Chipping.

 

HJ Berry managing director John Woodruffe, said: “It is rewarding that a business can do well in the modern 

world and stand out from the crowd because of its commitment to the planet and its people. We want to continue 

to build on our pioneering approach to sustainability and develop the latest in innovative manufacturing techniques - 

and enjoy doing business on these terms.”

 

For the future, plans centre on an old mill within the factory site, which contains a water wheel developed by the 

pioneer of the industrial revolution Sir Richard Arkwright.  

 

HJ Berry wants to redevelop the building, reinstall the wheel – which powered the factory up to the 1940s – to its 

former glory, and create a visitor centre and work space as an ‘incubator’ for people who share HJ Berry’s 

sustainable vision.

 

Find out more about HJ Berry’s sustainable credentials online at

www.hjberry.co.uk

 

Press release issued by Jane Shepherd, Shepherd PR Ltd.

 

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