U.S. Firms to End us of Old Growth Forest Products
http://forests.org/-- Forest Conservation Archives
12/11/98
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Title: U.S. Firms to End us of Old Growth Forest Products
Source: Reuters
Status: Copyrighted, contact source to reprint
Date: 12/11/98
Byline: Patrick Connole
WASHINGTON - Several large U.S. companies, including such major paper
users as Kinko's copy makers and Halmark Cards Inc., have agreed to
phase out their use of wood and other products from the world's ancient
forests, an environmental group said on Tuesday.
The companies pledged to stress ending their association with wood
product suppliers who operate in the Great Bear Rainforest in British
Columbia, the Coastal Rainforest Coalition said. Environmentalists said
home builder company Home Depot Inc. was the leading user of British
Columbia old growth forests, and urged the company to find new wood
suppliers.
The coalition, founded in 1994 by Greenpeace, the Rainforest Action
Network and the Natural Resources Defence Council, said 20 large firms
agreed to conduct internal audits and discontinue purchasing wood and
other materials from suppliers that use products from old growth
forests.
The companies also pledged to reduce overall consumption of wood related
products containing virgin fibers and phase in the use of certified,
recycled and sustainable agriculture-based alternatives.
Copymaker Kinko's, shoemaker Nike, Dell Computer Corp, jeans
manufacturer
Levi Strauss & Co and IBM were among the companies signing the deal.
"Ninety-five percent of the U.S. ancient forests have been decimated and
as the largest consumer of wood and paper products from Canada, U.S.
consumers have an opportunity to help save the world's last large
expanse of coastal temperate rainforest," the coalition said.
Part of the company-signed agreements say "suppliers will be required to
verify in writing that the sources of wood-based products they sell to
our company meet this policy" of not logging ancient rainforests.
Larry Rojero, environmental manager for Kinko's, said his company
continues to offer recycled paper for its customers, but has increased
offerings of non-wood paper, selling products made from sugar cane and
other wood-free mixes.
Other firms agreeing to the terms of the agreement included 3M Corp,
Bristol Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, McGraw Hill, Utne Reader,
Mother
Jones Magazine, Patagonia, Pacific Gas and Electric, Hallmark Cards Inc
and Estee Lauder Companies.
Greenpeace forest campaigner Tzeporah Berman said companies will "keep
the bulldozers at bay" by signing the agreement, noting a handful of
forest manufacturers stood poised to harvest remaining valleys of
British
Columbian ancient forest.
The coalition works to highlight the immediate threat to Canada's
temperate rainforests as a step toward saving endangered rainforests
globally.
(C) Reuters Limited 1998.