Romania is home to Europe’s last remaining old growth forests and some of the largest populations of brown bear, wolves, and lynx. However, the country’s forests are being ravaged by illegal logging and at a much higher rate than they can be regenerated.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) posted a statement on their website today announcing it is carrying out an investigation into “serious allegations against Schweighofer of trading and processing illegal timber in Romania.” The announcement comes after Schweighofer publicized a new chain of custody (CoC) certification as a sign that its problems were behind it. […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) revealed the role of Austrian wood processor Holzindustrie Schweighofer as the largest driver of illegal logging in Romania in its October 2015 report, Stealing the Last Forest. Yesterday, Holzindustrie Schweighofer released a statement in an attempt to “refute” EIA’s evidence. In this statement, the company dismisses both […]
North America’s largest specialized flooring retailer put on probation, pays over $13 million for environmental crimes under the Lacey Act WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Virginia-based company Lumber Liquidators was sentenced to $13.2 million in fines and forfeitures for importing illegal wood and submitting false declarations under the Lacey Act, a conservation law that makes it a crime […]
Following Lumber Liquidators’ sentencing hearing, EIA has produced a short video summarizing the case that began with the EIA undercover investigation that first exposed the company’s illegal activities.
Wake up call: In the forests of Guatemala, members of Maroon 5 and Guster discover the good and the bad of wood sourcing options To read this blog post in Spanish, please click here. Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve played host to world-renowned rockstars last December. James Valentine and Jesse Carmichael of Maroon 5 and Adam […]