CLEANING & HYGIENE
SECURING YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN
Paper may seem abundant across the UK, but have you ever considered where it’s made or how secure and ethical your supply chain truly is? Fourstones Paper Mill analyses the current market and offers some potential ways forward.
The Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI), a trade association representing the UK’s paper-based industries, reported that the UK produced an impressive 738,000 tonnes of tissue paper parent reels in 2023. These reels, valued between £0.6bn and £1.1bn, are used to create finished tissue products such as toilet rolls and centrefeed. Despite this significant achievement for UK tissue manufacturing, the industry body also reported that an additional £1.47bn worth of tissue paper parent reels and tissue products were imported into the UK that same year.
While paper has long been a global commodity, recent disruptions like the Covid-19 pandemic, global conflicts resulting in embargoes on paper and timber products, and unpredictable shipping container pricing and lead times have made it more critical than ever to review your domestic supply chain and establish strong relationships with local manufacturers.
Fourstones Paper Mill Co Ltd (Fourstones) is one such UK manufacturer that can help you secure your supply chain. Based in the heart of the UK, Fourstones manufactures parent reels and finished goods exclusively from FSC® materials, serving UK paper converters and distributors. Valuing honesty and integrity, Fourstones prioritises quality, resisting the trend of shrinkflation in size and paper grammage that has reduced the performance of many products currently sold in the UK.
Helping you maintain inventory levels One of the key benefits of working with a UK manufacturer like Fourstones is the assurance that your products are made domestically, resulting in shorter lead times, lower storage costs, and reduced carbon emissions from shipping.
Geopolitical tensions impacting critical trade routes like the Suez Canal and the Black Sea have increased lead times and costs for importing goods into the UK. Stricter border controls have further complicated inventory management, often forcing companies to order excess stock, which increases storage costs. Now is the time to consider a reliable UK paper supplier – whether to fully replace imports or diversify your supply chain. By doing so, you could reduce import times from over 10 weeks to just a few days.
The importance of ethical UK supply As consumer demand for sustainable products grows, it’s essential that your supply chain remains ethically and environmentally focused. The UK has some of the strictest environmental regulations in the world, which resonates strongly with end users. A 2024 survey by Made in Britain found that 59% of the UK public associate British-made products with greater sustainability, primarily due to reduced shipping distances and tighter environmental legislation and controls. Improve your supply further when
38 | TOMORROW’S FM
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