For most householders, the garden is their most tangible point of contact with the environment, so the £5bn garden-supply industry finds itself in an excellent position to promote green practices among consumers. The task is made easier by the fact that most people genuinely want to do something about depleted water and energy resources, reduce their reliance on carbon fuels and slow the spread of landfill sites. However, recycling, water conservation and the use of organic products are still often perceived as a burden - and an expensive one at that. Reducing cost, particularly in the organic market, is a key challenge for the sector.

Influential companies have been lining up to nail their green colours to the mast. In April, Wyevale announced that it would no longer stock garden heaters and would phase out at least 90% of its peat and peat-based products over the next three years. About 630,000 outdoor heaters are in domestic use, and research by the Market Transformation Programme, which supports the development of UK government policy on sustainable products, suggests that the garden heaters already sold produce 140,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

Wyevale said it would be offering greener alternatives for customers wanting outdoor heating, including recycled wood-burning stoves. The company also challenged suppliers to design zero-carbon versions of the heater that it could sell. Wyevale aims to become carbon-neutral by 2010 and in addition to reducing sales of peat-based products, it intends to ensure that by 2009, all wood products on sale in its stores are from certified sustainable sources.

Jim Hodkinson, Wyevale's chairman, said: "Phasing out the sale of gas-powered patio heaters is not just the right thing to do; it also demonstrates our determination to establish and adhere to a meaningful green agenda in every area of the business."

Nevertheless, some industry observers have been sceptical about the authenticity of Wyevale's commitment, and there has been criticism that the firm is merely paying lip service to the green movement. Richard Plowman (pictured left), secretary of the Leisure and Outdoor Furniture Association (Lofa), also points out: "You hear people saying that cooking outside using gas is bad for the environment, but it actually has a carbon footprint three times less than electricity. From an environmental point of view, electricity is a very expensive way of generating energy compared with natural and liquid-propane gas. People tend to have quite a simplistic view of environmental issues and education will enable them to make better-informed judgments."

Following reports about the amount of carbon dioxide generated by patio heaters and their potential for preventing Britain from meeting its Kyoto commitments on climate change, Notcutts has also said that it will not to restock the devices. The announcement was influenced by a survey from British Gas, claiming that pubs would buy an additional 40,000 heaters as a result of the smoking ban, implemented on July 1.

Notcutts managing director Michael Cole (pictured top of page 11) told Garden Centre Update: "Notcutts is considering its environmental approach. One feels garden centres are fairly green anyway but all retailers are looking at what they can do to improve that standard. We had received information regarding the impact of gas and electric heaters, and they have quite a significant carbon emission. While you can see the pleasure they bring, we concluded that it was not appropriate to continue selling them."

Cole believes that garden centres should review their provision of environmentally friendly alternatives to key products and ensure consumers understand them. "We need to get across the benefit of putting plants in the garden and reducing our carbon footprint," he adds. "We should educate people on how to use the garden as a green generator. I think a lot of customers and retailers are confused and it's up to the government to provide more information. We need to continue educating children on environmental issues, so they can put pressure on parents. The green issue has always been an issue for garden retailers, but it is becoming more acute."

Retail behemoth Tesco also entered the eco-friendly fray in June with a £156m agreed bid for the Dobbies garden-centre chain. The company said it was "chasing the green pound" and intended to expand the Scottish-based operation across the UK to sell cut-price products such as wind turbines, insulation, solar panels and water butts. Chief executive Sir Terry Leahy described the garden centres as "an exciting opportunity" that would help consumers go green. "The acquisition provides an excellent platform through which Tesco can provide customers with greater access to products that help reduce their impact on the environment," he told The Times.

Meanwhile, Homebase has launched its Eco Home campaign, which brings together about 900 products in three areas - water, energy and sustainability - that have been identified as eco-friendly. All 310 stores are involved in the initiative, which encourages customers to be more environmentally aware. By providing useful information at point of sale, the company hopes it can help consumers to create a safe and eco-friendly home. They can also accumulate extra ‘eco points' on their loyalty cards until November each time they buy the relevant products. Items are identified with the Eco Home logo and customers are also offered a leaflet with practical tips on green practices.

Homebase sustainability manager Charles Drewe said: "We are supporting Eco Home through staff training and have made a DVD to inform our colleagues on how they can help customers. Stores are focused on reducing the amount of water and energy used and the waste produced across the store network. Internal campaigns have been encouraging staff to switch off electrical equipment and lighting when not in use and closing doors to reduce heat loss. Low-energy light bulbs are installed in-store, and cistern bags reduce water use in toilets."

Despite our dismally wet summer, scientists are increasingly concerned about depleted aquifers worldwide, making water conservation and recycling another significant item on the Green Agenda. Automatic-watering systems, pumps and water butts have become increasingly good sellers, while mulch and compost-makers are working hard to augment the water-retention capabilities of their products.

Garden centres themselves are thinking creatively about more efficient ways to keep their plants in tiptop condition, and Bents Garden Centre at Glazebury near Warrington has developed a water-recycling system to ensure self-reliance. In 1976, brothers Ron and John Bent designed a 3.5m-gallon man-made lake into which all rainwater from the centre's buildings could be collected. Water from the lake is then filtered and used to feed plants being cultivated in the nursery. The recycling process then continues, with all water draining back into the underground drainage system and returning to the lake along with any additional rainwater.

Managing director Matthew Bent says: "Since the lake was built, it has more than paid for itself every year. It is the main provider of all our water at the garden centre, which has had a positive impact on business costs. Not only has it accommodated our expansion, but it has also ensured that commercial growth hasn't been restricted even in the driest years, as the lake has never fallen below its full capacity." In addition to attracting wildlife, the lake guarantees that the centre does not rely on water from the local authority - an important benefit particularly during drier months when water shortages can often affect households.

The issue of global warning remains contentious, but the prospect of drier summers will undoubtedly present challenges for the gardening sector. "As an industry, we have to look at more heat- and drought-tolerant plants," says Neil Gow (pictured above), director of the Garden Industry Manufacturers' Association (Gima). "We need to augment rainwater-harvesting systems that are appropriate on the domestic scale. The issue with water butts is that they only fill up when it's wet, and when it's wet you don't need the water. We must go further with systems that store much more significant volumes. For example, Bradstone introduced an underground storage system last year, in which through permeable paving you can harvest water, collect it underneath and get it back again."

Gow also advocates accessories such as the Hozelock water-butt pump, which was brought out this year. "We need to further develop rain-harvesting accessories," he says, "but I would also like to see local and national authorities recognising these issues through rate relief for companies really trying to help. We should also collect not only rainwater but grey water, and harvesting systems should be made compulsory for new-build houses."

At the Garden Centre Association (GCA), chairman David Danning (pictured left) agrees that there is already an array of products on the market that enable plants to be kept watered with little waste, such as micro drips, seep hoses and timers. "All we need is legislation that allows their use during a hosepipe ban," he says. "The Horticultural Trades Association, in consultation with other industry bodies such as ourselves, has been working on this with the government and we are getting nearer to a workable solution. Other products such as mulches, landscape fabric and water-retention gels are being used by consumers already and their use can only grow."

Recycling is another area in which the gardening industry has a key role to play, not only by promoting recycled products but encouraging the public to create their own compost. About a third of the average household bin can become valuable compost if recycled, and over the past two years the amount of waste composted in Britain has increased by almost 20%, from 1.6m to 1.97m tonnes, according to the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap). Its research revealed that the quantity of garden waste collected from the kerbside has more than doubled over the same period, now accounting for 21% of material composted. Many gardeners are already making good use of their leftovers, with 42% recycling through local-council schemes and 34% composting at home.

Wrap has been a driving force in getting the recycling message across to the public. Through its Recycle Now campaign, launched in 2004, it encourages businesses and consumers to be more efficient in their use of materials and recycle more frequently. This helps to minimise landfill, reduce carbon emissions and generally improve the environment. Established as a not-for-profit company in 2000, it is backed by government funding from Defra and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Other initiatives such as the Green Dot scheme are helping to raise eco-awareness in Britain. The Green Dot is an easily recognisable symbol used on packaging in many European countries and signifies that the producer has made a contribution towards recycling throughout the world. The amount paid depends on how much packaging the company uses. The programme is proving an effective way to encourage firms to be more responsible for the waste their products create and is compulsory for merchandise sold in Germany.

Some 3m square metres of soil improvers and growing media are sold every year to the UK's domestic gardeners, and manufacturers are also responding to public and governmental concern over the quantity of peat being consumed for compost by looking at greener production methods. "Composts coming onto the market with a higher peat-free content are improving considerably and are showing a consistency that has been lacking before," says Danning. Vital Earth, for example, uses garden and household waste to produce compost that is 100% recycled, organic and peat-free. The Derbyshire-based firm gathers material from kerbside collection points and recycling centres, processing about 70,000 tonnes of waste each year that would otherwise be destined for landfill sites. The most significant result of its technology has been to ensure consistency in the end product.

"I feel there is genuine potential for an organic, recycle-based compost to show consistent growth results, which has been the problem in the past," says Gow. "You tend to get huge variation with reduced-peat and peat-free composts, but Vital Earth - which has joined Gima - has taken positive steps and I can see it making a difference. Garden centres are doing a lot to promote eco-friendliness by stocking greener insecticides and compost made from recycled green materials as opposed to peat. But it's quite right to continue selling peat-based varieties, because the customer needs choice."

Several other soil-improving products are attracting consumers by dint of their organic composition. William Sinclair's Sincro-Boost, for example, is a recycled green-waste product being added to J Arthur Bower composts. "It is sustainable and environmentally sound," says the company. "It is effective because it releases nutrients in a natural way, plus its open structure helps promote root growth, as well as providing a good balance of water retention and drainage." Another consistent seller has been 6X Natural Fertilizer, which contains no peat or chemicals and has been manufactured in the UK for 40 years. The product is heated to provide a sterilised, weed- and pathogen-free substance that the company claims is six times richer than farmyard manure.

Mulch is also beginning to make an impression on the conscience of eco-friendly gardeners. Invented by the biologist Dr Geoff Whiteley, Strulch is an environmentally friendly, straw-based mulch that saves water by providing a barrier to evaporation, thereby protecting the soil from drying out during periods of drought or low rainfall. The product has received recommendations from the Royal Horticultural Society and National Trust as well as being used at the Eden Project in Cornwall.

Strulch is made from mineralised wheat straw, which is chopped through a mechanical process before the minerals are blended in. Iron in the additives reacts and binds with the straw material, making it more resistant to decomposition by bacteria and fungi. "We use locally produced straw straight from the farm in Oxfordshire in order to reduce transport costs," says Whiteley. "Mulch materials such as cocoa shells, for example, have had a long supply chain. The environmental benefits are that the mulch suppresses weeds, therefore reducing the need for herbicides. The mulch forms a blanket on the ground that stops light getting through, reducing weed germination."

Another advantage is that the straw mulch layer works as an effective insulator against evaporation, retaining moisture in the soil. It also encourages earthworm activity as the straw acts as a long-term food supply. "Ours is the only straw-based mulch I know of in the UK," Whiteley adds, "but in Australia, for example - where drought can be a much more serious problem than over here - straw mulches of various types are very common and we are hoping that the trend will catch on here due to the water-saving benefits."

Straw-based mulch is much lighter than other wood-based materials, making it easier to transport and quicker to spread. Whiteley points out that there has been concern over the low weight of such mulches and their propensity to blow away in windy conditions, but says the way it is shredded ensures it meshes in well with the soil.

Seaweed has been used in agriculture and horticulture for thousands of years owing to its bio-stimulant properties, and is another eco-friendly solution for gardeners looking to improve the quality of their soil. Maxicrop, whose UK branch is based in Corby, sources the abundant ascophyllum nodosum seaweed variety from Arctic waters off the northern coast of Norway. The seaweed grows in the inter-tidal section of the coastline and the harvesting process ensures that its base is left attached to the rocks on which it grows. This allows the seaweed to recuperate fully after five years and the crop is harvested in rotation.

Maxicrop seaweed extracts have several benefits. The complex array of compounds within the material help to reduce damage from nematodes, carbohydrates serve as a nutritional source for beneficial soil bacteria, and the seaweed increases chlorophyll levels in the plants. In addition, it makes plants less susceptible to disease.

The humble earthworm is also playing an important part in the eco-friendly gardening movement. Based in Canterbury, The Wormcast Company keeps billions of worms busy munching their way through organic material, gathering the secretions to offer an entirely natural and nutrient-rich growing medium. "We feed the earthworms organic substances - either green waste or animal manure - which they turn into something miles better," says horticultural expert and

Wormcast marketing manager Joanna Wood (pictured left). "They are adding value because the material that comes out the other end is absolutely teeming with beneficial micro-organisms, which the worms add through their digestion. We are turning ordinary waste material into a fantastic humic substance that enhances all plants."

Earthworms are also an extremely efficient way to improve soil quality in waste-ground bio-remediation projects, where substances such as polycarbons from industrial processes have caused contamination.

The addition of about 20% Wormcast to the soil/compost growing medium has a positive impact on plant growth. The product has a natural hormone effect, but the micro-organisms produced also help to suppress disease and - for reasons still unknown - pests are deterred from eating the leaves of plants that have been treated.

"The plants just don't seem to taste as good," Wood adds. "Earthworms have been doing this for millions of years without any intervention from humans, so it's a completely natural product and completely sustainable. We don't add anything and you are doing something good for plants and the environment at the same time. We use the dendrobaena veneta species, which is a better composter than common earthworms. Gardeners in America are all mad about vermi-compost; over here, we seem not to have been able to educate our public enough. The Americans love their composting and are much more aware about these kinds of products. They begin educating children early in schools. But we have some interesting initiatives in which primary schoolchildren are being taken out of the classroom to learn about gardening and wormeries, and that will help the next generation. Our GCSE biology is now woeful and teaches children almost nothing about plants."

Wood is critical of the way garden centres tend to stock organic products, arguing that items such as Wormcast tend to end up next to products containing peat or chemicals because they are difficult to categorise within the store. She believes that staff, as well as consumers, need better education about the benefits of going organic. "We must have better explanations for organic products, stressing that you are working with nature and not chemicals," she says. "We need to improve gardeners' knowledge of what is going on in the soil. Garden centres have an enormous opportunity to educate, but I still find that information is not getting through to the right people. You need a hands-on approach and enthusiastic staff doing more to explain the benefits of organic products. If you do that, they fly off the shelves."

Based in Bristol, the Soil Association is the UK's leading charity promoting sustainable, organic farming and human health. In order to drive the organic market and uphold consumer trust in such products it has formed the Organic Trade Group, the first open-membership body in the UK to represent organic businesses from multiple industries with a single voice. "The group aims to share best practice and work from a consistent set of commercial objectives that will benefit members, the environment, farmers, manufacturers, retailers and the wider public," the association said.

Tackling the scourge of forestry destruction is another crucial issue on the Green Agenda, and retailers as well as the buying public have become increasingly conscientious in this regard. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has been at the forefront of this shift, enabling consumers to buy timber products with the knowledge that they are not contributing to global forest destruction. FSC-certified forests are managed to ensure long-term timber supplies while protecting the environment, wildlife and forest-dependent peoples.

FSC certification can include non-timber forest products such as latex and foods. A system of Chain of Custody certification traces items through the supply chain to the end-consumer. Plowman says: "We've always had a policy at Lofa to make sure timber is produced from sustainable sources. The big worry was policing it, and the policing has certainly become more effective with bodies such as the FSC."

In a Gfk NOP poll earlier this year, 19% of respondents had seen the FSC logo before and the council is working hard to bolster recognition. The survey also found that once the concept of FSC was explained, 54% said they would choose FSC products in future.

"Public awareness of the FSC is undoubtedly growing, partly as a result of the increased range of FSC-certified products available," says Rosie Teasdale at the FSC UK Working Group. "Consumers are now seeing the logo in a wide range of high-street shops and supermarkets, as well as more traditional FSC outlets such as DIY stores and timber merchants. Paper products, such as toilet rolls, magazines and books, are increasingly sporting the FSC logo, as are wooden toys and even footballs and venison." There are now more than 800 Chain of Custody certificate holders in Britain.

Bristol-based Made on Earth is a good example of a successful company embracing the FSC philosophy. Established in 1998 when founder Richard Ballard secured a loan from the Prince's Trust, the FSC-accredited business is a leading supplier of teak and weave garden furniture and accessories. All the teak is sourced from sustainable sources in Java, Indonesia and Made on Earth offers practical assistance to the communities around Java, donating 5% of all profits to local children's charities. The firm is a member of the Tropical Forest Trust, which encourages sustainable timber production and provides support to indigenous peoples.

Other firms are using innovative techniques to bypass the use of timber products entirely. Vinyl Fencing, based in Peacehaven, produces maintenance-free fences made of recyclable material that requires none of the protective chemicals - such as arsenic, lead and creosote - associated with wooden structures and has a lifetime of between 50 and 60 years. "We are protecting the forests," says managing director Sasha Dragojevic. "It seems irresponsible to use such a limited natural resource for something that has a better alternative. Timber fences last only 5-10 years before being replaced, which means cutting down more trees. That can happen many times during the lifetime of only one vinyl fence."

Despite the public appetite for green products, one of the principal barriers to eco-friendly practices remains cost. The price differential between traditional products and their environmentally beneficial counterparts has been steadily decreasing, but the onus is on manufacturers to help retailers by reducing it further. "Our customers are certainly much more aware of the issues and are willing to buy the right products, but a couple of criteria must be met," says Danning at the GCA. "They must be as good as the less environmentally friendly products - for example, in the case of composts, plants must grow just as well and must be similar in terms of caring and watering; timber used in furniture shouldn't excessively warp or shrink. Pricing also has to be very similar - if green products cost considerably more, the customer can just shut their eyes to the issues."

Danning suggests that the government should assist companies that are investing in R&D for green merchandise with grants and tax credits to encourage them to drive technology forward more quickly. He adds: "The consumer needs constant reminders of the issues and demonstrations of how even their little contribution can help. However, we shouldn't push people too far, too quickly and it doesn't help when the biggest countries in the world seem to be taking a back seat." Danning is also concerned that some items - such as solar and wind-powered products - are being rushed to the market without the consumer being able to perceive sufficient benefit, which may put them off further purchases.

Like other industry experts, Gow anticipates a surge in less environmentally harmful goods but agrees that cost remains a key concern. "People might pay 5% more because of the feel-good factor, but not 20%. We all have morals - up to a certain point," he says. "The retail sector of the garden industry has perhaps sat on the fence a bit about this, but to be fair, so have a lot of the manufacturers. We need to look not only at the products but how we distribute them around the country, cutting down on harm to the environment by sourcing more local materials and consolidating deliveries through transport hubs."

Ultimately, the future of the planet depends on how much we as individuals are prepared to pay for our environmental conscience. Manufacturers must step up their research and keep looking for creative ways to reduce the damage we cause to the natural world. Retailers must seek to lower the cost of green products, even at the expense of increasing the price of more harmful goods. Government has a vital role to play in educating adults and children, as well as giving companies financial incentives to devise eco-friendly solutions. As fossil fuels begin to run out, we must re-evaluate worldwide transportation methods, shorten supply chains and prioritise alternative energy resources, such as biomass. Business is all about making money, but the colour of money has to be green.

Click here for more information:

http://www.soilassociation.org/
http://www.wrap.org.uk/
http://www.recyclenow.com/
http://www.green-dot.org.uk/
http://www.fsc.org/
http://www.gima.org.uk/
http://www.gca.org.uk/
http://www.lofa.com/

MARK CURTIS-RALEIGH