Ethical Charter

When we launched mandala, ethical production and minimising our enviromental impact was one of our core beliefs…

Here are some of the ways we meet these objectives

Packaging

We work hard to recycle as much packaging as possible…  In the last six months we have recycled between 85 and 92% of our packaging per month….. We operate ‘positive recycling’ where boxes and wrapping from incoming products are reused where possible to send goods on to customers… so if you order from us on the web you might get a transit box with a few marks from a previous life!!!  All our furniture is delivered in heavy duty cardboard which is removed by our delivery team and recycled through a company called greenerworld.

Electricity

Wherever possible we purchase electricity produced by solar or wind generation at our UK sites. It costs a bit more but we think it’s the right thing to do.

Delivery miles

We run a carbon offset programme with climate care to offset the emissions generated in delivering our furniture. At present we operate this scheme on all furniture delivered by mandala vans, so we can accuratly audit the mileage. We are looking at ways of extending this.

We are also working with a shipping line and climate care  to try and develop a model to offest the emissions generated in the shipping process.

Travel

We keep air travel to a minimum, but world travel is a neccesity in our business… so we offset all air miles through climate care.

Material sourcing

Our furniture is made using both recycled teak and new wood from Government approved sources in Indonesia.  The new teak that is used is certified by “Perhutani”, the Indonesian Government Forestry Department, as having come from managed plantations.  Certificates are available to view in our store.

Our recycled teak is sourced from old buildings, bridges and sometimes even boats. We have a team who source and grade all the old wood before it goes to our factory to be reconditioned.  Obviously this is the most eco friendly production route but its more labour intensive and unfortunatly means it costs more to produce furniture using this approach.

Currently, there are no FSC accredited timber sources in Indonesia from whom our suppliers can purchase the timber used in our products.  However the mandala  team on the ground in Asia audit our raw material volumes against the furniture qauntites we produce to ensure all our timber is legally sourced.

All the stains we use to colour our wood are waterbased.

Natural Fibres

Water hyacinth

We love water hyacinth but in Asia it’s a pest!  Water hyacinth grows like wildfire in Asian rivers and streams causing blockages and damage to boats. Tonnes of it are pulled out of the river each year and rather then burning it we buy it and turn it into fantastic furniture and homewares.

Rattan

Rattan is another quick growing  plant that is quick to harvest and easy to transport. Its hard wearing lightwate and flexible which makes it ideal for products like our bone chair.