A YEAR IN REVIEW: INDUSTRY COMMENT
Kimberley Hornby of HornbyWhitefoot PR looks back at the year’s gardening stories and trends. “CONSCIOUS ABOUT OUR
ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT”
As the year began, concerns about the environment and sustainability were still high on the agenda, and the media storm caused by Blue Planet II has galvanised public engagement, by highlighting how plastic has become a problem. Momentum has been gathering
behind the taupe plant pot campaign, spearheaded by a Nursery Working Group, and designed to be kerbside recyclable and replace the black plastic pot which has been used as an industry standard. Manufacturers also became more conscious of their environmental footprint, and as such there was a sharp increase in recycled, sustainable products and packaging. There has been an increase in natural and environmentally
sensitive feed, weed, and controls following the increasing pressure and debate surrounding the use of glyphosate and metaldehyde. Peat continued to be a big issue for both the industry and consumers. With peat being an essential asset in the fight against climate change, as it absorbs more carbon dioxide than trees, environmental activists have been calling for viable alternatives for composting which do not use peat. In 2011, DEFRA introduced a ‘voluntary’ target for peat to be phased out in products available for amateur growers by 2020, but with British gardeners continuing to buy peat and sales at three billion litres a year in the UK, it’s unlikely to happen. The announcement of a ‘Peat Free April’ in 2020 has been welcomed, with garden retailers
signing up to match peat free alternatives.
Mental health and social
anxiety have been a key focus of 2019, currently costing the UK approximately £105 billion a year. The garden industry recognises that horticulture and gardening provide opportunities and benefits to our health system. Research has shown gardening can improve mental wellbeing and physical health and the role it can play as the ‘Natural Health Service’, by providing exercise, relieving stress, as well as connecting with nature. This year saw the RHS team up with GPs across the UK as part of a new scheme to prescribe gardening activities to patients with dementia and mental health struggles, as well as the HTA launching their ‘Gardening is Good
for You’ campaign. Feel-good benefits of gardening were one of the leading themes to come out of RHS Chelsea in 2019, with the show gardens selected for their health-giving, beneficial qualities and designs. The sales of houseplants
continued to dominate 2019 with the GCA’s Barometer of Trade revealing sales were up 12.34 per cent in September, compared to the same month last year. Several scientific studies have shown that houseplants have many benefits for health and well-being, including improved mood, reduced stress levels, purifying the air we breathe of harmful toxins, controlling humidity and lowering sound pollution. The RHS also revealed that city dwellers today spend an average of 90 per cent indoors.
ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE
New era and new MD at Shurtape UK as Gadd retires
Shurtape has announced as the the
retirement of MD Colin Gadd and the promotion of his successor, Jason Burns,
company
celebrates 10 years of success in the UK. Colin started his career in the DIY
industry working for Crown Paints, before moving to Henkel Consumer Adhesives. He left Henkel after 16 years to work at PPG, before joining Shurtape as UK MD, setting up the British arm of the US company in 2010. Over
has completely disrupted the UK DIY tape industry. At
the last decade, Shurtape the time of
its launch, 80% of the market was own label, then Colin and the team introduced FrogTape®, taking it to brand leader within a few years and extending the range to include Multi Surface, Delicate Surface and Gloss and Satin products. Colin also oversaw the UK re-launch of much-trusted Duck Tape, bringing
the 18 DIY WEEK 23 DECEMBER 2019 it more recent we have
to brand leader status, and the launch of
the extra
strong T-Rex Tape. “I’m incredibly proud of all achieved and it
feels
bittersweet to leave the Shurtape family, but the time is right for me to retire, travel and enjoy being a Grandfather,” says Colin. “We have built up a great portfolio of brands and the business will continue to go from strength to strength with Jason at the helm.”
Jason has vast experience in the
Trade and DIY Sector. He and Colin worked together at Henkel and he joined Shurtape two years ago to work alongside Colin,specifically to take over upon his retirement. “We wanted
to make
everything comments
was has always been at Jason. “The sure
seamless,” customer
the heart of
everything we do at Shurtape, and this will continue to be the case. Our 10th birthday will be a great
celebration of the last decade and a time of excitement for the next one - with new products, new channels and new categories. We wish Colin all
the best in his retirement and
will be keeping in touch regularly - so he’ll still be talking tape, even on his travels!”
www.shurtape.com
www.diyweek.net
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