Furniture Retailers Elevate Sustainability in Wood Sourcing

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Sustainable Furnishings Council (SFC) and National Wildlife Federation (NWF) are proud to announce the 2024 Wood Furniture Scorecard's top and high-scoring retailers, highlighting significant strides in sustainable wood sourcing within the furniture industry. As the Scorecard completes its seventh year, it continues to serve as a critical benchmark for retailers committed to reducing deforestation and implementing responsible forest management in their supply chains. This year, more points were awarded for setting public targets and reporting on them.

2024's notable "top scoring" retailers include Model No., Cisco Home, Room & Board, and Walter E. Smithe whose business models, transparent wood sourcing policies, and active engagement with the scoring team accentuate their leadership in sustainability. These companies have demonstrated their commitment to using responsibly sourced or reclaimed wood and supporting sustainable forestry practices.

"High scorers" for this year include Sea Green Designs, Urban Natural, Williams Sonoma and Target. Each high scoring company has made remarkable progress in tracking and improving the sustainability of their wood sourcing. Their efforts reflect an increasing industry trend toward responsible material sourcing, as more retailers recognize the critical role they play in protecting forests and biodiversity.

The Wood Furniture Scorecard also acknowledges one retailer as "Most Improved". This year, the award goes to Ethan Allen, recognizing their significant improvement of at least 10 points over their previous scores.

"Each year, an increasing number of companies are recognizing their critical role in protecting natural forests and the profound impact deforestation has on climate change", stated Barbara Bramble, vice president of international conservation and corporate strategies at the National Wildlife Federation. "With more furniture retailers setting public commitments to harvest wood sustainably and report their progress, the scorecard empowers consumers and helps shift us toward a more sustainable industry."

The methodology of the Wood Furniture Scorecard, updated every year, focuses on information available in the public domain on corporate websites regarding wood sourcing policies, goals, and practices. In addition, the Scoring Team reaches out individually to each retailer to ensure all relevant scoring information has been considered. Through this outreach, we offer recommendations and resources for adopting and implementing robust wood-sourcing policies, including the elements necessary to ensure that the company addresses the problem of deforestation and forest degradation.

Key Trends in Wood Sourcing Practices

The 2024 Wood Furniture Scorecard reveals several positive trends in retailers' wood sourcing:

1. Setting Targets: More retail companies are setting, striving toward, and reporting on public goals on wood sourcing. This increases internal alignment and motivation, creates external accountability, and gives a company leverage and talking points with vendors.

2. Increased Transparency: Retailers that choose to engage with the scoring team continue to demonstrate greater transparency, establish and reach public targets, and promote wood sourcing practices and partnerships.

3. Rising Awareness of Deforestation: More companies are acknowledging the importance of protecting natural forests and the impact of deforestation on climate change, which has led to stronger commitments to eliminating illegally sourced and endangered wood species from supply chains.

4. Third-Party Certifications: Many top scorers have expanded their use of third-party certifications, such as Forest Stewardship CouncilⓇ (FSC) or the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), ensuring that the wood they source is harvested responsibly and in accordance with rigorous environmental standards.

5. Retailers' Engagement: Companies that actively engage with the Wood Furniture Scorecard scoring team tend to score significantly higher than those that do not provide information. This reflects the importance of collaboration, transparency, and willingness to improve sourcing practices over time.

SFC Executive Director Scarlette Tapp stated, "The 2024 results show that furniture retailers are increasingly prioritizing sustainable wood sourcing, driven by growing consumer demand for environmentally responsible products. We are thrilled to see so many companies leading the way toward more sustainable supply chains."

View the full list of top and high scorers, along with detailed information on their wood sourcing policies here.