Monthly Archives: December 2015

The Importance of Buying British Kiln Dried Logs

The Importance of Buying British Kiln Dried Logs

You are perhaps not even aware, when buying firewood, that a huge amount now comes from Eastern Europe and the amount being imported is rising at a significant rate.

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Get Laid Beds – A True British Bed Maker

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Get Laid Beds – A True British Bed Maker

Get Laid Beds are a UK based wooden bed maker, that specialises in the a vast array of wooden bed frames, including their iconic Low Beds, stylish Standard Height Beds and their prestigious Four Poster Beds. They have a family heritage in carpentry and using experienced craftsmanship, meaning that they take great pride in the quality and design of the wooden beds that they hand make in their workshop. They even offer an amazing 11 year guarantee on all of their wooden beds as result from their careful and experienced craftsmanship.

We live in a period in which the majority of products are mass produced and with streamlined manufacturing, which diverts away from the traditional British manufacturing values and quality. Get Laid Beds hand make all of their beds with custom alterations and special care, so each of their customers get a personalised bed with their own choice of colour finish and size. This is all done locally from their Leicester based workshop, of which they deliver worldwide to customers bedrooms.

Wooden Bed Frames

One of their most popular beds is their contemporary Platform Bed (Space Saver). The wooden Platform Space Saver bed is a popular style as a result from its space efficient design. It is designed to give you those extra few inches of space when you need them most, especially with small bedrooms and awkward spaces. In addition to boasting a contemporary design, and a minimalist aesthetic it also allows clearance underneath the bed frame which offers a valuable storage solution. With no inclusion of a headboard, the Space Saver version of the Platform Bed offers more flexibility as you can install a headboard of your own.

The main difference between Get Laid Beds wooden bed frames and others is that they are made using quality mortise and tenon joints. This method of construction makes your bed much more sturdy and durable, meaning that it can stand the test of time, which is reflected in the company’s promise of an 11 year guarantee on all their wooden beds. You can certainly be confident in the quality and British design of their wooden bed frames.

Buying Handmade British Beds

Get Laid Beds produce all their wooden bed frames locally, with bespoke sizes and finishes, as a result from being able to offer more customisable features on their handmade wooden beds. This Includes a choice between a range of colour finishes, such as sleek black, smooth white, modern chocolate and professional grey colour finishes for their Solid Scandinavian Pine bed frames.

They also offer a range of hardwood finishes, including such popular hardwoods as Oak, Walnut and Ash. This service allows you to really personalise your wooden bed frame to suit your bedroom. They also offer 17 different bed size, which range from a Small Single to such large custom sizes as a King, Super-King and their own special 7ft Super-Caesar. You can also customise the size with their alterations service which starts from as little as £55.

Additional Information

All of this ensures that your wooden bed can be handmade to be more personal to you, so you can confident that the stylish British wooden bed frame will look great in your bedroom. You can view their range of British handmade wooden bed frames, as well as their mattresses and bedding on their website here – http://www.getlaidbeds.co.uk/

This is a guest article for UK Made written by Get laid Beds.

Waitrose food labelling scam – Waitrose supermarkets stops telling customers where their products are made

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I am deeply disappointed with Waitrose / John Lewis because they no longer label where all their own brand foods and other products come from, either on the products themselves or on their website.

I was in Waitrose in Reading the other day (27th October 2015) and as usual checked the packaging of what I was buying to make sure it was made or grown in the UK and I noticed that Waitrose no longer put country of origin on all their products.

I suppose this was to be expected as John Lewis have been failing to label country of origin on many of their products for a while, but disappointing because Waitrose / John Lewis profess their support for British farmers and British manufacturers and because as a customer I want to know where what I am buying is made. There is I understand generally no legal requirement to say where goods are from, but as a consumer the lack of information and hence lack of choice now being offered by Waitrose / John Lewis is a let down.

Examples of Waitrose own brand products with no country of origin given anymore are:

Waitrose Sweet and Salty Popcorn.
Waitrose Rich Coffee Roast (see photographs below).
Waitrose Essential Macaroni.

Up until recently all Waitrose products, like those in other supermarkets, always stated country of origin. I am at a loss to see why Waitrose would change that, given that they are a British firm and claim to support Great Britain and their local communities.

Presumably those products with no country of origin labelling are now being made abroad, yet Waitrose customers undoubtedly think, because Waitrose have a Royal Warrant and because they say you support British manufacturing and British farming, that they will be made in Britain. This is very misleading, and it amounts to a scam to mislead their customers.

I want to buy goods that are designed, manufactured or assembled, or grown in the UK, or preferably all of these; with raw materials sourced here too where possible and packaged in the UK using UK made packaging; and with provenance clearly labeled.

Waitrose / John Lewis can work to support British companies and British jobs and be environmentally friendly (by reducing their carbon footprint through reducing the miles goods are transported) by buying and selling British.

Of course I recognise that international trade is vital to the UK and that trade is a two way street. I don’t advocate protectionism and there is nothing wrong with buying products from abroad. I just want Waitrose / John Lewis to return to clear labelling so customers have a choice.

I want to make informed decisions about what I buy, and I’m interested in the provenance and sustainability of products. Local sourcing plays a part in that, and I’m proud to support quality British manufacturing and British farmers. Sadly, as Waitrose is my favourite supermarket, I will not be able to buy much in there now because of the lack of labelling and my money will be spent elsewhere.

Can consumers influence greedy retailers to make changes for the better? I don’t know but I would ask Waitrose / John Lewis to go back to their previous policy of clear labelling please.

I wrote to Waitrose with my concerns on 28th October 2015. They replied promptly saying they would get back to me, which they have now done. They say “that, when deciding whether or not to include country of origin we take the following in to account:

– Whether it is a legal requirement to do so, as with Beef for example. We display country of origin labelling on all meat and meat products we sell.
– Whether there is a specific policy to do so (such as with dairy, where we are currently reviewing the information we show).
– Whether the products packaging or style may indicate a geographical location, but the product is produced elsewhere – such as an Italian ‘style’ ready meal that has been produced int he UK.”

This is all very confusing and unclear. Please join me in pushing Waitrose to go back to labelling country of origin on everything. Ask at Customer Service next time you are in store (show them a product and ask where it was made and why that is not labeled) and write to Waitrose to complain. Please do not be buy any Waitrose own brand products that do not say where they are made on them. Thank you for your support. Waitrose, please stop misleading your customers.

Essential Waitrose Rich Roast Coffee instant granules. Front view. Note country of origin is no longer given. Presumably this Waitrose coffee is now foreign made. This coffee used to be clearly labelled as processed and packed in the UK. Photograph by author.

Essential Waitrose Rich Roast Coffee instant granules. Label view. Note country of origin is no longer given. Presumably this Waitrose coffee is now foreign made. Photograph by author.

Waitrose Christmas 2015 Chocolate Biscuit Selection – again there is no country of origin labelling on this Waitrose product. Photograph by author.

Waitrose Christmas 2015 Chocolate Biscuit Selection. Label detail view – again there is no country of origin labelling on this Waitrose product. Photograph by author.

Some products (residual lines perhaps) are still labelled with country of origin, such as the Waitrose toilet roll below.