The Range

How ethical is The Range?

The Range is a variety and garden retailer which has fallen below The GOOD Shopping Guide’s ethical benchmark on our Ethical Garden Suppliers Ratings Table. The Range’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 The Range do?

The Range was founded in Plymouth in 1989 by Chris Dawson and has grown into a national variety retailer operating over 180 stores across the UK. The company sells a broad range of products across home, garden, arts and crafts, leisure, and DIY categories, with garden products forming a significant part of its offer. Many stores feature dedicated garden centres, and The Range also operates the Homebase brand following its acquisition from administration in November 2024. The company is operated by CDS Superstores International Ltd, a subsidiary of Norton Group Holdings Limited.

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

The Range’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 retailer operating more than 180 stores nationally and selling garden products across a substantial store estate, the absence of a published environmental report means consumers have no transparent account of the company’s environmental commitments or sustainability performance. Publishing an environmental report would address this gap and provide accountability appropriate to the company’s scale.

The Range also receives poor ratings for peat free status and packaging. Ensuring that compost and growing media sold across its garden product range meets 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 public scrutiny associated with The Range’s expansion strategy, including its acquisitions of brands from administration. These are matters that consumers may wish to consider when assessing the company’s overall ethical standing.

The Range 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 environmental ratings and an acceptable public record criticisms rating means that The Range 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.