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Certified logging no match for Indonesia's timber 'mafia'

LONG HUBUNG, Indonesia — Dayak tribesman Hanye Jaang didn't know it, but he used to be part of a multi-billion-dollar "mafia" that is ravaging Indonesia's forests and, scientists say, warming the climate.

The wiry 36-year-old still cuts down trees but now he's doing it legally in a way that minimises damage to fragile forest ecosystems.

"I don't have to play hide-and-seek with the forest police anymore. It's safe doing my job now," he told AFP in the jungles of East Kalimantan, or Indonesian Borneo.

Agence France Presse
Agence France Presse
Sunday, May 16, 2010

Rainforest Action Network Praises ANZ Bank for Refusing to Fund Gunns' Tasmanian Pulp Mill

Release Date: 
Friday, May 23, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO - Bill Barclay, Global Finance Campaigner for Rainforest Action Network, released the following statement today praising ANZ Bank for its decision to withhold funding for Australian lumber giant Gunns Ltd's controversial Tasmanian pulp mill project:

International Paper Threatens to Violate Own Policy by Expanding Into Indonesian Rainforest

Release Date: 
Monday, May 12, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO — Rainforest Action Network and ForestEthics today condemned a proposal by U.S.-based International Paper to build a pulp mill and establish 1.2 million acres of plantation forest in the heart of the Indonesian rainforest. The groups urged International Paper, which is holding its Annual General Meeting today, to not violate its own paper policy and to abandon its plans to expand into Indonesia, a global warming and biodiversity hot spot.

Top Paper Company Misinforming Customers about Source of Wood

Release Date: 
Tuesday, June 26, 2007

TOKYO – A report released today by U.S. environmental group Rainforest Action Network (RAN) contains evidence that Nippon Paper is purchasing wood from old growth forests in Tasmania, Australia, despite the company’s assurances to the contrary. RAN’s report, The Truth behind Tasmanian Forest Destruction and the Japanese Paper Industry, details how Japanese paper companies are supporting the rapid destruction of Tasmania’s biologically unique forests by purchasing huge volumes of woodchips from controversial Australian lumber giant Gunns Limited.

The deflowering of the EU's green logo

The EU's Ecolabel is used to certify a product partly made from Indonesian rainforest timber. What a shame

The deflowering of the EU's green logo
The Guardian
Thursday, April 15, 2010

Indonesian Paper Giant APRIL’s Certification Status Suspended

Release Date: 
Thursday, April 15, 2010

Pekanbaru, Sumatra, Indonesia - Allegations of rampant environmental damage and human rights violations were confirmed today as SmartWood, an independent forest management certifier, suspended the interim certification of Asia Paper Resources International Limited (APRIL) pulp products. The paper giant failed to meet the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)’s minimum standard for controlled wood certification.

NH Company Pledges Greener Luxury Paper Bags

Here is something you probably didn’t know: Some of those luxury shopping bags your purchases are placed in at stores like Versace, Prada and J. Crew may have contributed to tropical rainforest deforestation.

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N.H. company pledges greener luxury paper bags
Boston Globe
Thursday, December 3, 2009

Gucci joins other fashion players in committing to protect rainforests

The Rainforest Action Network announced on November 3 that the Gucci Group--which includes fashion houses Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, and Balenciaga--has joined a growing list of major companies who are pledging to change their paper policies.

Since the beginning of fall 2009, the Rainforest Action Network has been encouraging fashion industry players to examine their paper supply chains, avoiding suppliers who use resources from endangered rainforests, specifically those in Indonesia.

Gucci joins other fashion players in committing to protect rainforests
The Independent (UK)
Thursday, November 5, 2009

A Green Victory in the Bag?

Environmental activism against the fashion-bag industry begins to have an impact.

A Green Victory in the Bag?
The Big Money
Monday, October 5, 2009

Fashion for glossy, paper shopping bags is ‘destroying rainforest’

They are the must-have accessory for fashion-conscious shoppers who want to be seen carrying home the most exclusive and expensive brands.

But there is a dirty secret behind the glossy paper bags often spotted dangling from the arms of socialites.

Several of Britain’s top fashion brands and makers of luxury goods have been buying these bags from a supplier majority-owned by a company responsible for destroying millions of acres of Indonesian rainforest.

Fashion for glossy, paper shopping bags is ‘destroying rainforest’
Times Online (UK)
Saturday, September 19, 2009
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