When working on projects, designers and architects can be overwhelmed with choice, with many options coming from overseas suppliers. Price has often trumped quality as a buying decision, leading to some chosen products not standing the test of time.
Yet, with this abundance of choice available, we all recognise that people have become more inclined to buy locally in this post-pandemic world. A recent survey by Made in Britain showed that 90% of consumers believe it's important to buy British, showing that two-thirds of us are more likely to buy more British goods post-Covid to support the economy than we were before the pandemic.
Marshalls was founded in Yorkshire in the 1890s and through the years, we continued provide superior and innovative products for the built environment, never compromising on quality and safety. As a hard landscaping brand that prides itself on quality, below we highlight five benefits of buying from us as a British manufacturer.
1. Our British ranges have a lower carbon footprint compared to imported ranges
We’ve been providing carbon footprint information since 2008 and this data helps our customers understand the carbon footprint of the products they use for their project. All our products carry a 'cradle to grave' carbon footprint, which includes everything in the full product lifecycle (from the extraction of materials to transportation and end of life recycling). In some of the concrete sectors we operate in, our product carbon footprints are up to 50% lower than both our direct and indirect competitors. What’s more, all our natural stone and concrete products are 100% recyclable.
2. We can monitor product quality and working practices closely
As we’ve been manufacturing products in the UK for well over a century, we operate our facilities close to home, meaning we’re able to invest in our technologies and prioritise training, safety and quality.
When it comes to our imported products, we are meticulous about ethical sourcing. We carry out extensive modern slavery risk mapping for all countries that we work with to create a deeper understanding of the environments we operate in. We're proud to make this information publicly available for transparency and help others who source from abroad.
3. We give back
As a British business, we want to support our people and our communities. That’s why we pay our people the Living Wage. We’re proud to say we’ve been accredited by the Living Wage Foundation since 2014.
We also pay our fair share of tax, having had the Fair Tax Mark since 2015 and, in 2020, we repaid the £9.4m we received from the furlough scheme back to the government.
4. We support British manufacturing
Marshalls are a part of Made in Britain, a not-for-profit organisation that brings together the best of British manufacturers to champion skills, innovation and craftsmanship.
We are continuing investments in our production and people, creating sustainable work and practices along the way:
- When it comes to our people, early careers are something that we are proud to promote and develop within Marshalls. We work with several local colleges and training providers offering work experience placements and apprenticeship opportunities for people starting their career journey and increased our investment in apprenticeships by almost 55% in 2020, compared to 2019.
- When it comes to our production, we are currently investing £20m in a new Dual Block Plant. This new facility will not only increase our capacity but also represents a significant investment in new product innovation, giving our customers more choice and create jobs in the community.
5. We produce and deliver products efficiently
With our multiple sectors and operations across the UK, we’re able to provide you with a whole host of British-made ranges for the built environment. Including our traditional concrete and natural stone ranges and British-made products from our business divisions of Landscape Protection & Street Furniture, Civils & Drainage, Bricks & Masonry and Mortars & Screeds.
We efficiently manufacture these products at production sites that use electricity from 100% renewable sources, and when it comes to delivering them to you, we use Euro 6 cleaner fuel emissions fleet.
The products we supply not only represent years of innovation and investment in Britain from the last 130 years, but are brought to you by a company that believes in Creating Better Spaces and prioritising sustainability when we do so.
To learn more about our British-made ranges, visit Marshalls Made in Britain.
To learn more about our key strategic priorities for sustainability, visit Sustainability.