Archived press release

NEC garden show targeted by rainforest groups

19 September 1999

Friends of the Earth (FOE) and human rights group Global Witness are calling on all trade visitors to the Garden and Leisure Equipment Exhibition (GLEE) at the NEC to avoid buying timber products from uncertified sources, particularly furniture from Vietnam. Much of the timber in Vietnamese garden furniture is in fact illegally logged timber from Cambodia. The green groups are urging retailers to sell timber products from sources certified by the Forest Stewardship Council [1].

FOE and Global Witness published a shocking report to launch their campaign last Easter which showed that much of the garden furniture coming out of Vietnam was in fact made with illegally logged timber from Cambodia [2]. The report also quotes UK importers admitting that the documentation that they have from Vietnam is not worth the paper it is written on [3].

Since the launch of the report, major retailers including Argos, Woolworths, Cargo HomeShop and Robert Dyas have committed to phasing out uncertified Vietnamese garden furniture and are seeking to stock FSC certified furniture.

Sarah Tyack from Friends of the Earth said:

“High street retailers realise that the consumer is not interested in timber products which cause rainforest destruction and have made efforts this summer to source timber from independently certified sources. The false and sometimes absurd “green”claims on timber products serve only to cover a multitude of sins and are not helping curb widespread illegal logging in tropical countries which is destroying irreplaceable rainforests. We are calling on traders at GLEE to avoid uncertified furniture and sell timber made from reclaimed, locally produced or FSC certified sources.”

Patrick Alley from Global Witness said:

"Traders at GLEE must realise that it is unacceptable to destroy the world's forests simply to provide leisure furniture. Their avoidance of “Vietnamese” garden furniture will really contribute to crucial forestry reform in Cambodia - our main area of operations"

[1] The Forest Stewardship Council accredits independent forest certifiers according to a set of high forest management principles that have been agreed by a broad and diverse group of environmental, human rights and community based organisations, the timber trade, forestry profession and forest certification bodies. For further information call the FSC UK office on 01686 413916.

[2] “Made in Vietnam, Cut in Cambodia” gives evidence of illegal logging in Cambodia supplying furniture factories in Vietnam. Illegal logging is being carried out by the Cambodian military which is destroying the country's precious forests. These forests are home to thousands of people, some of the richest forests in the world in terms of wildlife and are vital to Cambodia's economic future.

[3] The following are quotes taken from UK importers during research for the report“Made in Vietnam, Cut in Cambodia”

“..Vietnam is Cowboy country...if you want stamps, you can get stamps... you get the certification, but it's worth nothing”.

- Xin Dao representative at GLEE - September 1998.

“You've got to be very wary of these documents. It's from a third world country, it's from Vietnam, they need the dollars. They will sign a document if it's needed to be signed”.

- Paul Brooks of the Traditional Garden Supply Company Scotts of Stow Ltd, May 1998

“And you can even have a certificate from the actual government. In Vietnam it isn't worth the paper it's written on, but it's a piece of paper, it looks official”.

- Kevin Shurmer of Romac International Products, a company involved in the marketing of Mercantile International's garden furniture range, and ex head of marketing for Li-Lo leisure products, June 1998.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust