Homebase

How ethical is Homebase?

Homebase is a home improvement and garden retailer which has fallen below The GOOD Shopping Guide’s ethical benchmark on our Ethical Garden Suppliers Ratings Table. Homebase’s below-benchmark performance is driven by poor ratings for environmental reporting, peat free status, and packaging, alongside an acceptable rather than good rating for public record criticisms.

What does Homebase do?

Homebase was founded in 1981 and operates as a home improvement and garden retail brand. Following a period of significant corporate turbulence — including the collapse of the Wesfarmers/Bunnings Warehouse expansion and subsequent administration in November 2024 — the brand was acquired by CDS Superstores International, the operator of The Range. Homebase now operates as a digital retail brand and as a garden centre concession within The Range store network, supplying plants, compost, garden tools, outdoor furniture, and home improvement products.

Why does Homebase fall below The GOOD Shopping Guide’s benchmark?

Homebase’s below-benchmark performance is driven by poor ratings across three environmental criteria. The poor rating for environmental report is the most significant. For a nationally recognised home improvement and garden brand operating across The Range store network and online, the absence of a published environmental report means consumers have no transparent account of the brand’s environmental commitments or sustainability performance. Publishing an environmental report would address this gap.

Homebase also receives poor ratings for peat free status and packaging. Ensuring that garden products sold under the Homebase brand meet peat-free standards and strengthening packaging standards across its product range would bring both ratings in line with the stronger performance demonstrated across other criteria.

The public record criticisms rating is acceptable rather than good, reflecting Homebase’s documented history of corporate difficulties, including multiple ownership changes, a large-scale failed retail expansion, and administration. These are concerns that consumers and businesses may wish to consider when assessing Homebase’s overall ethical standing.

Homebase does achieve good ratings for fossil fuels, animal welfare, armaments, irresponsible marketing, and political donations. These reflect areas of genuine strength. However, the combination of poor ratings across environmental criteria and an acceptable public record criticisms rating means that Homebase falls below the benchmark required by The GOOD Shopping Guide.

Consumers seeking garden suppliers that meet The GOOD Shopping Guide’s ethical benchmark are encouraged to consult our Ethical Garden Suppliers Ratings Table and our guide to ethical garden suppliers, and seek out brands that hold The GOOD Shopping Guide’s Ethical Accreditation. Our how we rate page explains the criteria used to assess all brands in this sector.