Legality

IKEA and the Forest Stewardship Council: “Don’t believe the greenwashing”

A recent documentary on Arte revealed the serious impact that the world’s largest consumer of timber, IKEA, has on forests around the world.

Of course, you wouldn’t know anything about these impacts from looking at IKEA’s website which tells us that,

“At IKEA, we believe we can accomplish more by working together. For many years, we have been committed to working together with different stakeholders to protect and strengthen the world’s forests. One of our key partners is the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) – an organisation that brings together different voices that represent a wide range of needs for responsible forest management. IKEA was one of several founders in 1994.“

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Flatpacked Forests FAQ: Earthsight responds to FSC

Earlier this month FSC-Watch wrote about a new report from Earthsight about illegal logging in Ukraine. Earthsights’ 18-month-long investigation revealed that IKEA is selling chairs made from beech wood that was illegally logged in the Ukrainian Carpathians. And the timber is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

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In denial: FSC’s response to the ARTE documentary

Two weeks ago, ARTE broadcast a documentary that was extremely critical of FSC. FSC responded with a statement on its website, and an 8-page “Fact check”. FSC’s response illustrates that the organisation is in denial about the problems within the FSC system.

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ARTE Documentary: Bozovich and the scandal of “controlled wood” in Peru. FSC is “no guarantee of legality”

For the recent documentary “Who is Protecting our Forests?”, ARTE journalists Manfred Ladwig and Thomas Reutter visit the operations of Bozovich Timber Products, an FSC-certified logging company. The company is supported by the German government.

The journalists ask whether the chain of custody is better monitored in Peru than in Cambodia and Vietnam.

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ARTE documentary: How FSC fails to address illegal timber from Cambodia being exported from Vietnam with an FSC label

This is the third post in a series based on ARTE’s documentary about FSC: “The exploitation of primary forests: Can an ecolabel stop the forest industry?”

Unfortunately, the documentary is not available on ARTE’s website after 23 October 2018, but it is available here (also in German and Spanish).

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New documentary slams FSC: “The eco-label could not slow down the forest industry”

ARTE, the European TV channel, broadcast a new documentary about FSC this week. It’s available on Das Erste website in German: “Die Ausbeutung der Urwälder: Kann ein Öko-Siegel die Forstindustrie stoppen?” – The exploitation of primary forests: Can an ecolabel stop the forest industry?

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FSC fails to kick out Schweighofer despite “clear and convincing evidence” of illegalities in Romania

Two-thirds of the last old-growth forests in Europe are in Romania. Unfortunately, Romania’s forests are under threat from rampant illegal logging. And by failing to kick out companies involved in this illegal logging, the Forest Stewardship Council is complicit in this destruction.

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