Take a greener path with Marshall's fairly mined sandstone
You garden path may seem to you a million miles from rural India, but the odds are that's the origin of any sandstone fixtures you might have, and few are aware of the welfare issues that this growing market is creating.
In some the poorest and most remote parts of India, Indian Sandstone is being mined to feed an ever increasing demand in the UK domestic paving market – often by children as young as six, working long hours in inhumane conditions.
One company, Marshalls, is attempting to change this situation by putting some guidelines in place to ensure that the stone they import for garden pathways and patios was not sourced in this way. They've just completed two years of independent audits and improvements to gain membership of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI). The ETI Base Code includes provisions that no-one should be forced to work, child labour should not be used and working conditions should be safe and healthy.
