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Major UK Builders' Merchant Removes Illegal Rainforest Timber From Stock
Wolseley Builder Centre, Stoke-on-Trent
20th October 2005: One of the biggest builders' merchants in the UK has today pulled
illegally logged rainforest timber from its shelves, and suspended
all further supplies.
The move from Wolseley, who own over 200 Build Centers across the
country, follows a major investigation by Greenpeace. The
environment group tracked timber from the rainforests of
Papua New Guinea to builders' merchants in the UK, via mills in
China where the illegal timber was effectively 'laundered' and
transformed into plywood.
The companies logging this timber are not only linked to
environmental destruction, but also to serious human rights
abuses, including torture and rape.
Pat Venditti, head of Greenpeace's forests campaign, said: "This is
great news for the world's last rainforests, and for people across
the world who depend on them.
"Wolseley's commitment shows that builders' merchants can easily avoid stocking
illegally logged rainforests timber that is directly linked to human rights
abuses.
"The Government must now ban this illegal trade, rather than leaving it up to
individual companies to act."
The Wolseley Group is a leading supplier of building materials to the
professional market. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a
constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Until today, Wolseley bought Chinese
plywood from International Plywood. This account is believed to be worth
£00,000 a month.
Yesterday, Greenpeace blockaded the Governments environment department in
protest at the tonnes of illegal timber from the worlds last rainforests
that continues to flood into the UK.
The logging industry in Papua New Guinea is dominated by Malaysian logging
giant Rimbunan Hijau, a company that has been directly linked not only to environmental destruction, but also to human rights abuses including torture and rape. Illegally logged timber from Rimbunan Hijau, and other companies, can be found as plywood at Wolseley Build Centers and other builders' merchants throughout the UK.
China is by far the largest importer of rainforest destruction in the world.
For every ten tropical logs shipped from the world's threatened rainforests,
five are destined for China.
More information
Call the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.
Download the Greenpeace report,
Partners in Crime: The UK timber trade, Chinese sweatshops and Malaysian robber barons in Papua New Guinea's rainforests here (PDF format).
Wolseley Builder Centre, Stoke-on-Trent
20th October 2005: One of the biggest builders' merchants in the UK has today pulled illegally logged rainforest timber from its shelves, and suspended all further supplies.
The move from Wolseley, who own over 200 Build Centers across the country, follows a major investigation by Greenpeace. The environment group tracked timber from the rainforests of Papua New Guinea to builders' merchants in the UK, via mills in China where the illegal timber was effectively 'laundered' and transformed into plywood.
The companies logging this timber are not only linked to environmental destruction, but also to serious human rights abuses, including torture and rape.
Pat Venditti, head of Greenpeace's forests campaign, said: "This is great news for the world's last rainforests, and for people across the world who depend on them.
"Wolseley's commitment shows that builders' merchants can easily avoid stocking illegally logged rainforests timber that is directly linked to human rights abuses.
"The Government must now ban this illegal trade, rather than leaving it up to individual companies to act."
The Wolseley Group is a leading supplier of building materials to the professional market. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Until today, Wolseley bought Chinese plywood from International Plywood. This account is believed to be worth £00,000 a month.
Yesterday, Greenpeace blockaded the Governments environment department in protest at the tonnes of illegal timber from the worlds last rainforests that continues to flood into the UK.
The logging industry in Papua New Guinea is dominated by Malaysian logging giant Rimbunan Hijau, a company that has been directly linked not only to environmental destruction, but also to human rights abuses including torture and rape. Illegally logged timber from Rimbunan Hijau, and other companies, can be found as plywood at Wolseley Build Centers and other builders' merchants throughout the UK.
China is by far the largest importer of rainforest destruction in the world. For every ten tropical logs shipped from the world's threatened rainforests, five are destined for China.
More information
Call the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.
Download the Greenpeace report, Partners in Crime: The UK timber trade, Chinese sweatshops and Malaysian robber barons in Papua New Guinea's rainforests here (PDF format).