Members Information

This section provides information on all aspects of TFT Membership.

Who can become a Member?

What are the Membership benefits?

What are the Members' obligations?

How do we join?

Who can become a Member?

The TFT has three membership categories:

Buying Members are retailers, selling tropical wood products to end consumers

Supplying Members trade tropical wood products at any point in the supply chain between the forest and the retailer

Supporting Members are businesses that are not directly involved in trade in tropical wood products, but that support sustainable forestry through this form of membership.

What are the Membership benefits?

Businesses join the TFT to source wood verified to have come from well-managed forests. This is an integral part of TFT Member's strategies; to secure their wood raw material supplies, their corporate brands and their market share.

Key benefits for Buying and Supplying Members are:

Supply Chain Support

Initial assessment of supplying factories for their ability to operate Wood Control Systems
Linkage of supplying factories to FSC certified and TFT project forests producing the right timber in the right quantities
Introduction to all other relevant TFT Members
Support from a dedicated TFT Client Manager to ensure maximum membership value
Design and monitoring of Wood Control Systems at supplying factories
TFT WCS monitoring factory visits - from the log purchase to final assembly and packaging - with timely reports to enable the Member to address any wood sourcing issue quickly.

Communications Support

Use of the TFT trademark: Buying Members can use the TFT logo on products, and Supplying Members selling to non-TFT retailers can use an approved TFT truth statement on products. See Approved TFT Trademark Use for details.
Company listed on the TFT web site.
Support on all relevant communications issues, including with forest campaign groups
Association with the highly respected TFT brand.

Supporting Members are listed on the web site. They can use the TFT logo on promotional material and other external and internal communications.

Should a Supporting Member procure a minimal amount of tropical hardwood product, the TFT will assist to ensure that the forest source is appropriate for a TFT Member.

What are the Members' obligations?

In order to be a Supplying or Buying Member, a business must:

Demonstrate commitment to the TFT's Mission and Objectives
Inform the TFT about its tropical wood products, and relevant supply chains
Facilitate TFT access to its supplying factories to design and monitor Wood Control Systems
Make an investment in the TFT programme that is appropriate to the scale of its wood requirements and that is sufficient to support a credible program to meet them
Commit to an agreed payment schedule which includes an initial advance on becoming a TFT member
Commit to excluding all potentially illegal timber from its supply chains within a specific and credible period
Nominate a Liaison Officer as the contact point between the TFT and the member
Implement all TFT Board approved procedures
Report annually to TFT on progress towards TFT's Mission and Objectives

Supporting Members must:

Demonstrate commitment to the TFT's Mission and Objectives
Make an investment in the TFT's programme that is appropriate to the scale of its wood requirements and that is sufficient to support a credible program to meet them
Commit to an agreed payment schedule which includes an initial advance on becoming a TFT member
Nominate a Liaison Officer as the contact point between the TFT and the member
Implement all TFT Board approved procedures

How do we join?

If, after reading this information, you are interested in TFT Membership, the next step is to contact the Client Services team (clientservices@tropicalforesttrust.com / tel. +44 (0)2380 111220) to arrange a meeting to discuss membership.

Following that meeting, if you are ready to sign a membership application form, your application will be processed, usually in two to three weeks.