Open letter: 100+ businesses and other supporters urge Keir Starmer to #EndPeatSales

We have sent an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for legislation to end peat sales in the UK. The letter is signed by over 100 signatories including peat-free horticultural businesses and many other supporters. Amongst the signatories are retailers B&Q and Co-op Supermarkets and individual supporters Chris Packham and Guy Shrubsole.

It’s clear that we need legislation now to protect our precious peatlands. Let’s work together to end peat sales now!

Building a sustainable future for horticulture

Welcome to the Peat-free Partnership: where peat-free horticultural businesses are joining forces with environmental and gardening charities to end the sale of peat for horticulture in the UK.

Claire Thorpe, the RHS peat-free campaign manager, explains the different products offered by garden centres and how you might choose the right product for your plants.

We attended the 14th annual IUCN UK Peatland Programme Conference in Aviemore! Read more for details on our two days spent in the Cairngorms talking all things peat.

100+ signatories have signed our open letter to urge PM Keir Starmer to #EndPeatSales. Read more here.

A look at where we are with peat legislation going into the new term and what the Partnership is getting up to these days.

Why peat-free?

Peatlands are unique ecosystems which supports incredible biodiversity and store significant amounts of carbon. However, they are extensively destroyed for the extraction of peat for the horticultural industry. This extraction not only destroys precious habitats, but releases hundreds of thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year (from peat use in gardening in the UK alone!).