Gardening Shed Or Outdoor Storage – What’s the Environmental Price?

When looking for a garden building or shed, many people just care about the size, the price, and how much stuff they can fit inside. Many of us want to make sure the garden building we are buying is ethically made and won’t cause lasting damage to the environment. There are some things to look for to make sure your garden building is made in a way that sits right with you.

Check For The FSC Logo!

The easiest way to make sure that your wooden shed or garden building comes from a sustainable source is to look for an FSC logo on the product. The FSC is the Forest Stewardship Council. Their aim is for any product approved by them to have 70 percent of its wood to come from forests that are well managed. It is quite tricky to know exactly what the FSC logo on a garden building means, but it is something that many shed merchants will display with pride. Some even go so far as to have sections dedicated to garden buildings that are made with FSC approved wood. We think this is great, and it should be the first thing you look for.

One thing that is worth noting is that some garden building retailers don’t display the FSC logo, but they make mention of it in their shed description. So if you do not see the logo, be sure to read the description. Of course, you can always directly ask the merchant or even shoot the folks at FSC an email to ensure the merchant you are looking at is on the up and up.

Look Into The Treatment That Is Used

Most sheds these days come with just a basic basecoat treatment. You will have to give it a coating of wood treatment once it is installed. Some people are a little bit nervous about things like this as they are worried about what kind of chemicals are in the treatment they are using. We have looked, looked again, and then looked some more and we cannot find a retailer who actually tells you exactly what is in the treatment they offer. Usually it will be a case of them just saying something like, “Buy a 2 L tub of golden brown wood treatment.” If you look, you will most likely see the brand, but that is all the information you are likely to find.

Most of the time, wood treatment will be fine. It is made to look after wood so it really should not have any harmful chemicals in it. But you can always just take a look at the brand of wood treatment the retailer offers and do your own little bit of detective work to see if the treatment is environmentally sound.

Is The Wood The Garden Building Is Made From Sustainable?

This is not really something that many shed retailers are going to be talking a whole lot about, but as someone who cares about the environment, you will want to make sure that the wood they are using is from trees that grow fast. Just have a look at the kind of wood the shed you are interested in is made from and then you can do your own little bit of homework.

What Kind Of Labour Was Used To Make The Shed?

Was the shed made by people who were treated right and paid a fair wage? Of course, this is not something that is just out in the open on most retailers sites. But for the most part, you can easily find information about a retailer and the different brands of garden buildings online. You can then find out a little about the manufacturing processes that are used. Many sheds that are sold in the UK are actually made in the UK, but it really does not hurt to do a little bit of homework to find out exactly how the shed was made.

Do Not Be Scared To Ask Questions

You will have noticed that a few times we have said that you will have to get in touch with a retailer to make sure the shed, bike shed, summerhouse, or whatever it is you are looking at is made in a way that you feel is right. Here we have a checklist of questions that you should ask to make sure the shed or garden building you are looking at is right for you.

Was the shed made with FSC approved wood?
Who makes the shed and was it made in a fair way? (no slave labour)
What is in the wood treatment?
What kind of wood was used, and how quickly does it grow?

These are simple and basic questions, but if you get the answer to these you will know for sure if the shed was made ethically and from sustainable sources.

If you want to look more in depth at how to be sure your future garden building is ethically manufactured, check out the following guide here.