About Our Wood
Setgear wooden products have been designed with strength, longevity and practicality in mind.
We care about where our wood comes from.
As of the 2nd of March 2022, sanctions have been placed on timber materials originating in Russia and Belarus. In response to the UN General Assembly Resolution - 'Aggression Against the Ukraine' materials from these countries became considered 'conflict timber'. We now rely on sources from elsewhere.
Why Finnish Birch Plywood?
The slow growth of Finnish Birch results in a close grain which is consistently high in quality and strength. Its hard surface means it is resistant to damage and wear and when sanded, it offers a light smooth finish. Typically used to make transport vehicles, factory floors subject to heavy wear, load bearing structures and furniture, you can be confident that your kit is in safe, hard-wearing and durable hands.
So, what about the environment and sustainability? We celebrate the natural beauty of our wood and do our best to ensure that it is sourced responsibly.
Our Birch plywood comes only from legal sources within Europe and conforms to all the relevant standards and regulation including European Union Timber Regulation. To ensure a long-term supply whilst preserving the environment, annual quotas for felling and replanting trees in Finland are controlled by regulatory authorities. Which, according to the Handbook of Finnish Plywood, means that annual growth of Finnish Forests exceeds the amount harvested. As a result of their forest management programme, the forests' absorption of carbon dioxide is helping to reduce global warming (see The Handbook of Finnish Plywood).
Our Finnish Birch plywood is also PEFC Certified material (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) - the world's largest forest certification organisation and comes from a PEFC Certified supplier, although as a company we do not hold a chain of custody certificate ourselves.
For full information on the PEFC please visit their website pefc.co.uk
The attractive layers of birch which make up the plywood we use are a feature of our kit. It is worth noting that Finnish phenol formaldehyde glued wood exhibits very low levels of formaldehyde emissions which fulfil even the most demanding European standards, with the long-term goal to remove risk of emissions altogether.
Our supplier of Indonesian H-Performance Plywood @ is also able to trace their wood to a responsible source that adheres to the Timber Trade Federation's (now TDUK) Responsible Purchasing Policy. This policy implements a code of conduct that ensures all their timber is purchased from legal and sustainable sources.
Indonesia is the first country in the world to enforce a scheme to regulate trade in timber, meaning that all their timber has to be fully traceable and certified under their Timber Legality Assurance Scheme, SVLK. This is the first scheme to be recognised by the EU Timber regulation Framework. All products certified under this scheme are FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade) licensed, which means the country is managing its' forests in line with forest management and environment laws, labour and community welfare legislation and ensuring that adverse effects on local communities are also managed. This reaps social, environmental and economic benefits. (For more information see flegtlicence.org).