Rainforest that ends up in our gardens...

Two of Britain's biggest retailers today stand accused of contributing to the destruction of tropical rainforests.

Marks & Spencer and Asda were branded "irresponsible" for selling garden furniture made from trees felled in fast-disappearing rainforests of south-east Asia.

Campaign group Greenpeace claims the firms ignored calls to buy timber from sustainable sources. The wood is used to make goods such as tables, chairs and benches.

Much comes from Indonesia, where nearly 90 per cent of all timber is illegally logged. The country has some of the most endangered animal species in the world such as the Sumatran tiger and the orang-utan.

Greenpeace surveyed outdoor furniture sold at all the major high street chains to see how much was sourced from sustainable plantations.

The best UK retailers were B&Q, Woolworths and Robert Dyas. All sell garden furniture using wood which is "80 per cent" certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) as coming from environmentally friendly sources.

None of M&S's and Asda's garden furniture met the best practice standard.

Greenpeace spokesman Nathan Argent said: "People who buy outdoor furniture from M&S or Asda are contributing to the destruction of forests and the extinction of the orang-utan.

"There are readily available alternatives that don't harm the environment or contribute to wiping out rare animals."

M&S accepted the survey and said it had terminated its contract with the firm that supplied the furniture. But its Riverton Dining Table & Four-Chair Set is still on sale at its Marble Arch store. It is made from a rare species called Nyatoh, found only in Indonesia.

A spokeswoman for Asda said it had been misled by a supplier, which had claimed the red balau wood came from sustainable plantations in Vietnam. Greenpeace said the real source was rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia.

The spokeswoman said: "We're grateful to Greenpeace for bringing this to our attention. We are talking to our supplier to make sure it does not happen again."

Outdoor furniture is increasingly made from tropical woods such as teak and mahogany because of its durability and attractiveness. Every two seconds an area of tropical forest the size of a football pitch is destroyed, says Greenpeace.