Do you play a musical instrument? If you do, do you play a woodwind instrument? We’re talking about a clarinet perhaps, an oboe or even the bag pipes. If you do, have you ever thought where it came from? No, not a shop, but before that. Probably not. Well, the chances are that it is made from a wood called African blackwood, and like many other valuable forests in developing countries, they have been stripped and exploited by logging companies to such an extent that the African blackwood has all but disappeared from east Africa. What then happens is that the people at the end of the chain, the companies who use that wood and make it in to something else … like a clarinet perhaps, are either unaware or turn a blind eye to the origins of the wood, and whether it was logged illegally and the massive impact its removal has on the environment and for the indigenous people who loose out. Gibson, the guitar makers, came an absolute cropper recently, when it was discovered that the rose wood they use to make their instruments came from illegally logged Madagascan forests.

Well, a chap called Neil Bridgland has decided to do something about the African blackwood problem. He has set up campaign called ‘Sound & Fair’ and established a sustainable chain of custody through the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), guaranteeing that the wood has been harvested with minimum impact, that forest boundaries have been redefined and that the local communities get a slice of the profit, making sure they get the best possible price.

Bridgland then went and saw a company called Hanson, a leading British musical instrument manufacturer, who amongst other things makes clarinets and oboes. Early next year they will be selling their first ever sustainable oboe, made from the wood that is now FSC certified thanks to Bridgland’s intervention. On top of that, he’s managed to get oboist and conductor Nicholas Daniel to become patron of the campaign.

Bridgland isn’t actually a musician himself, but he has ensured that in the not too distant future, we’ll all be able to hear sustainably harvested music.

Its music to our ears.