Our business ethics

Square Roots is committed to responsible and ethical practice at all levels of our organisation; people, materials and environment

We recognise our people are as central as our product. We are committed to being an ethical company and have set up our business in line with the Ethical Trade Initiative base code (which reflects international standards as well as respecting local labour law). Our policies, procedures and working environment are designed to ensure that our workers are properly protected and all receive a decent living wage above and beyond legal requirements. We recognise that even with the best will in the world problems can arise. We therefore have a regular programme of checks in place and are committed to ensuring that any issues are identified and dealt with as quickly as possible. We are committed to sharing the benefits of our business with our workforce with continuous improvements to working conditions and benefits.

Solid hardwood is the main material we use; all of which comes from plantation sources around the world. We are conscious of the need to use this precious material responsibly and sustainably. For this reason we buy through timber selected suppliers who are PEFC certified and we are implementing a certified chain of custody system so the source of our materials can be verified. We currently achieve, a minimum of VLO standard for 100% of our timber procurement and we ensure that we always avoid timber from areas of conflict and / or oppressive regimes. Our aim is to achieve PEFC certification ourselves as a manufacturer and hope to be announcing our accreditation soon. Through a stepwise approach and through help from organisations such as the Timber Trade Federation we aim to achieve ever higher procurement standards.

We choose to use natural, recyclable and water based materials whenever possible. When oil or solvent based materials are required we ensure that they are used safely and all waste is disposed of properly.  Other waste materials are disposed of according to environmental guidelines and a recycled whenever possible.

In all the above areas we operate our own internal system of on-going monitoring and continuous improvement but our policy is one of transparency. We are happy for customers to verify our practices through visits to our factory and/or third party audits and assessments and we welcome engagement with and enquiries into the detail of our ethical policies.

Our firm belief is in making beautiful furniture that is built to last and produced ethically and responsibly.