WWF test finds tropical wood in 56% of barbecue charcoal sampled in Germany
A joint analysis by WWF Germany, the Thünen Institute and the Earthworm Foundation found tropical or subtropical wood species in 32 of 57 charcoal products bought in German retail. Nine of those products showed discrepancies in declared species or unclear origin data, and voluntary certification did not close the documentation gap. For the first time, the share of suspect products on the German market is declining.
Barbecue charcoal sold in German retail still contains substantial amounts of tropical and subtropical wood, according to a joint market analysis by WWF Germany, the Thünen Institute and the Earthworm Foundation, reported by the trade magazine diy. The study covered 57 products, ranging from classic lump charcoal and briquettes to alternatives made from coconut shells, and identified the wood species used in each. For the first time, the share of suspect products on the German market that may originate from illegal logging is declining.
What the sampling found
The products were bought in supermarkets, discounters, DIY stores, beverage retailers and at filling stations, covering the main sales channels for charcoal in Germany. Species identification produced the following picture:
- 32 of the 57 products (56 percent) contained tropical or subtropical wood species.
- Nine of those products (16 percent) showed discrepancies between declared and identified species, or gave unclear information on the origin of the wood.
- 25 products (44 percent) declared the wood species properly.
- 35 products (61 percent) provided traceable information on the origin of the wood.
Taken together, only around half of the sample informed consumers adequately. Species declaration remains the weaker of the two disclosure requirements: while a clear majority of products said something verifiable about where the wood came from, fewer than half named the species correctly and completely.
Certification did not close the gap
42 products (74 percent) carried a voluntary label — FSC, PEFC or Naturland. Certification did not translate consistently into reliable documentation. Eleven certified products gave no traceable origin information, and ten carried insufficient or incorrect statements about the wood species. Five FSC-certified products contained subtropical or tropical woods while showing deviations from the FSC database or raising doubts about the declared origin.
„The pressure of recent years is having an effect“, said Johannes Zahnen of WWF. „Many retailers have cleaned up their ranges, questionable goods are increasingly disappearing from the shelves. But that does not mean the problem is solved. Wood from suspected over-exploitation still ends up in German shopping baskets, in some cases even with an eco-label.“
EUDR delay removes the legal edge
Alongside the recurring market analyses, WWF attributes the improvement to the pending EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). „Some of the false declarations we found would have been a breach of the EUDR if it had not been postponed again at the end of 2025“, Zahnen said, adding that the regulation must now come without dilution and without further delay.
A separate regulatory change is also reshaping charcoal logistics: from 1 January 2026, charcoal moved by sea must be declared as dangerous goods without exception, diy reported. That affects freight documentation, packaging and handling for every importer bringing charcoal into Germany by container.
What it means for the trade
For importers and retail buyers, the findings concentrate on documentation rather than volumes. Wood species can be identified in a laboratory, which makes declarations testable after the fact and turns a wrong label into a verifiable defect rather than a matter of opinion. The results also show that a certificate on the bag is not a substitute for species and origin data that match the product inside it: in ten certified cases the species statement itself was wrong or insufficient.
The direction of travel is set by the assortment decisions retailers have already taken. The declining share of suspect products indicates that buying departments have begun screening suppliers, while the 56 percent of products containing tropical or subtropical species shows how much of the German charcoal offer still depends on tropical hardwood sources. Once the EUDR applies, the same gaps that are currently a reputational issue become a compliance issue, and verification of species and origin moves from a voluntary claim to a condition of market access.
