Editor's Comment

One of the dangers of publishing is how much the world around you can change between the time of writing something and it being read.

As I type this, it’s sweltering. The air barely seems to be moving, and the heat is rainforest sticky. However, by the time you read it, there’s a good likelihood that our great British summer has come to an abrupt end, replaced with incessant grey days and downpours.

Sure, there’s always been an element of uncertainty to our weather – but is our climate undergoing a more significant shift?

The global warming warnings abound. Although it’s too early to tell if we’ll see another record-breaking (40.3°C) day, meteorologists say the chance of us experiencing a hot summer is now 45% (2.3 x the norm). Indeed, new research has found that the hottest days across North-west Europe are warming at double the average rate. Meanwhile, global sea surface temperatures in April and May reached an all-time high for those months, and there’s a marine heatwave off our coasts.

Whatever the weather, and your feelings about climate change, it’s getting harder to ignore the signs of Al Gore’s ‘inconvenient truth’.

This month, we’re again talking sustainability, and offering a soapbox to the people, products and processes making our sector greener. On p10, read about my visit to Hypnos’ HQ, where group MD David Baldry talked me through the sustainable bedmaker’s latest successes. From p28, I look into the role of FSC certification in our sector, and how two furniture manufacturers have responded to the timber shortages brought about by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Hypnos’ own ‘captain planet’ Richard Naylor (p38) kicks off a new series of columns on the whys and wherefores of sustainability in the furniture industry (expect some hard truths); Angela Moran chronicles Silentnight’s journey to net zero (p42); cover star Simba shares its latest sustainable innovations (p32); and The Circular Design Institute’s Elaine Butler reports on circular manufacturing in the upholstery sector (p34).

Anyone seeking to develop a better understanding of the issues should consider attending the Climate Change Sprint Challenge, a round robin discussion event taking place at Furniture Makers’ Hall, London on 20th July. It follows on from February’s Routes to Greater Sustainability conference, and promises to help educate attendees on everything from certification to reducing carbon emissions.

Every little helps, as when it comes to going greener, the ball’s in our court. As Richard Naylor puts it, despite a backdrop of political upheaval, furniture businesses “are here for the long term, and we hold the power to make positive change, to be beacons to other industries. In the midst of a global climate and biodiversity crisis, sustainable development has never been more important”.

Also this month, we explore Leekes’ latest refurb (p12) and look back at May’s convivial Spring Furniture & Bed Show (p18), Reborn’s Adam Ashborn takes our Q&A hotseat (p14), and new BFM MD Phil Spademan outlines the association’s upcoming components show (p57).

Finally, late July saw the launch of the Women in Furniture Network (WIFN), organised by Clarion Retail (the group behind the January Furniture Show). Furniture News is pleased to be WIFN’s principal media partner, and we look forward to bringing you a snapshot of the inaugural networking event (also at Furniture Makers’ Hall) in next month’s issue – where we’ll also (drumroll please) be revealing the winners of this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards. Don’t miss it!