Empatika joins WWF Forest Campaign 

Empatika, the designer and producer of quality, bespoke eco-friendly fitted furniture, has joined the WWF Forest Campaign. The campaign is determined to end the trade in illegal and unsustainable timber.

Joining Homebase, Sky and Tesco, Empatika is among 30 companies behind the campaign.

Tristan Titeux, founder and head of design at Empatika, said: “We want customers to understand the issues that concern our environment and take action before it’s too late. We cannot destroy forests that have been around for thousands of years. We must not rob our children of resources vital to their futures.”

Every two seconds, an area of forest the size of a football pitch is destroyed. In the UK, books, cards and other products made from illegally sourced wood can be bought, courtesy of loopholes in the legal system.

Empatika endeavours to use wood that is legal and traceable. It is calling on the UK and EU governments to close legal loopholes and complete the transition to a sustainable timber market.

In 2014, Empatika bought over 95 per cent of its wood from its main supplier, who only buys from chain of custody certified suppliers. Empatika aims to buy all its timber and timber products from sustainable sources by 2020.

Titeux founded Empatika in 2003. The business works with sustainable materials to create stylish, purpose-built furniture. Empatika designs and constructs timeless pieces such as fitted cupboards and cabinets, tailored to every client’s needs. 

For more information, visit www.empatika.uk.

Find out more about the WWF Forest Campaign.

For media enquiries, please contact Emma De Maio, redheadPR, 07921 160 134, emma@redheadpr.co.uk. 

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Tristan Titeux - founder and head of design, Empatika 

Tristan Titeux is the founder and head of design at Empatika, the sustainable contemporary fitted furniture business he established in London in 2003. He is also the author and publisher of “Furniture for the Future: How what you buy can change the world.”

A pioneer in eco-friendly furniture, Tristan works with sustainable materials to create stylish, purpose-built furniture. He and his team design and construct timeless pieces such as fitted cupboards and cabinets, tailored to every client’s needs. 

Tristan has joined the WWF Forest Campaign to encourage the use of sustainable and legally sourced wood.

Concerned by the waste produced by modern furniture manufacturing methods, Tristan created the Milo family of tables from waste offcuts. From here, he went on to produce pioneering examples of fitted furniture from the most eco-friendly materials, designs and ideas possible.

During his early career, Tristan honed his natural talent for visual balance and composition through his work as a music club photographer. Between 1994 and 2006, he worked for every dance music magazine in the UK, capturing images of people at clubs and festivals around the world.

Tristan’s empathy with nature is rooted in his childhood. He grew up in the Belgian countryside, where his meals typically included plants and mushrooms from the wild. His father was a regular contributor to radio programmes on the subject of wild plants.

Having moved to London, Tristan began work by advertising himself as a handyman in Notting Hill. Fixing anything wooden, he never said no to any request. Eventually, he started building furniture, which led to him founding Empatika. Today, Tristan focuses on the design and promotional side of the business.