Wickes Lumber Cuts Out Old Growth Products

VICTORY

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org

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11/5/99

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY

In yet another stunning victory for ancient forests, Wickes Lumber

has announced plans to stop selling wood from endangered old growth

forests. This comes on the heels of Home Depot's recent similar

announcement. Rainforest Action Network and other campaigners are

well on their way to making it known in the U.S. that home consumer

products are not a legitimate use of endangered old growth forests.

Remaining home improvement companies must follow suit or face

protests, and bad press, for their culpability in the final

destruction of the World's remaining old growth forests.

g.b.

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Title: WICKES Lumber Cuts Out Old Growth Products

Source: Environment News Service, http://www.ens.lycos.com/

via ForestWorld at http://www.forestworld.com/

Date: November 5, 1999

VERNON HILLS, Illinois, November 5, 1999 (ENS) - Wickes Lumber, the

tenth largest home improvement retailer in the United States, said

Wednesday it plans to stop selling wood from endangered old growth

forests by the year 2001.

David Krawczyk, Wickes Inc. president and CEO, said, "By the end of

2001, we will phase out purchasing wood products from endangered

forests in North America and around the world as we build

environmental partnerships that will enhance the effectiveness of our

efforts and result in better outcomes for everyone."

Wickes' announcement came just eight days after the company had been

targeted with demonstrations as part of a nationally coordinated day

of demonstrations against the sale of wood products from old growth

forests. Rainforest Action Network (RAN), a San Francisco-based

environmental group, had included Wickes Lumber as part of the

"Foolish Five," the largest home improvement stores still selling old

growth wood. The "Foolish Five" are 84 Lumber, Home Base, Menard's,

Payless Cashways, and Wickes. Of over 100 protests nationwide, 15

were at Wickes stores in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest.

Krawczyk said, "As a successful building materials supplier, Wickes

recognizes its procurement policy will play a critical role in proper

forest stewardship. Our ongoing commitment to responsible

environmental practices will be reflected in Wickes' environmental

policy highlighting our dedication to providing building materials

solutions to our customers in an environmentally-responsible manner."

RAN's old growth campaign director Michael Brune said, "Wickes Lumber

has joined a growing number of powerful wood consumers who recognize

that selling old growth wood is unacceptable. RAN is eager to work

with store management to develop a schedule for identifying and

eliminating its egregious wood supply. Now that Wickes and Home Depot

are setting high standards for wood products, it is high time for

HomeBase, Menards and others to follow suit."

Krawczyk added, "Wickes' primary customers, professional builders,

want to know that the wood products they use come from well-managed

forests. Wickes currently buys from many of the most responsible

producers in North America and we will increase our efforts to ensure

that our suppliers practice sustainable forestry. Many of our

suppliers have already implemented credible third-party certification

systems that will verify their environmental performance. Extensive

tracking and auditing of their results will continue to provide us

with benchmarks of performance."

In August, Home Depot announced plans to go old-growth-free after a

two-year international activist campaign. RAN staged demonstrations

at Home Depot headquarters, worked with major institutional

shareholders, fought Home Depot expansion plans at local city council

meetings, coordinated a national ad campaign, and organized

demonstrations at several hundred Home Depot outlets across the U.S.,

in Canada, and in Chile.

Wickes Lumber and The Home Depot have become part of the growing

number of companies that have chosen to go old-growth-free. Others

include 3M, Dell, IBM, Kinko's, Levi-Strauss, Mitsubishi Motors

America, Mitsubishi Electric America, and Nike.

Old growth forests are forests that have never been logged

commercially. The trees in some old growth forests are over 2,000

years old. Around the world less than 20 percent of these original

forests survive. Less than four percent survive in the United States.

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