Although it has the CEO of the iconic guitar maker Gibson Guitar Corp. singing the blues, a U.S. law aimed at limiting deforestation has attracted calls for strict enforcement from other affected companies.
The Lacey Act, a 112-year-old import restrictions law Gibson acknowledged breaking in early August, was amended in 2008 to reduce illegal logging in Asia and other tropical countries. It requires any U.S. company importing exotic wood products to take extra care in documenting sources and confirming they aren't in violation of global sustainable forestry practices.
A settlement reached with Gibson Guitar this month is held up as the first instance of action taken to enforce the Lacey Act's provision for wood sourcing.
"The criminal enforcement agreement should be a wake-up call for companies thinking about importing illegally logged wood that the government is going to take violations of the Lacey Act very seriously," said Jameson French, CEO of Northland Forest Products and a board member of the Hardwood Federation, which joined forces with the likes of Rainforest Network and United Steelworkers to get the tough amendment passed in 2008.
Makers of hardwood floors, musical instruments and other wood products interviewed for this story said they're taking a rigorous approach to compliance.
Armstrong World Industries, for instance, requires all its wood suppliers to document their compliance with the Lacey Act for each shipment Armstrong imports, according to Milton Goodwin, vice president of wood product management for the giant floor and cabinet company based in Lancaster, Pa. "This is a standard part of our procurement practice and ensures that we responsibly manage our wood supply chain."
It's worth noting that Armstrong does this even though "97 square feet out of 100 square feet" of the wood products it sells are sourced from managed U.S. forests.
Next page: Is sustainability a competitive disadvantage?
What does politics have to do
What does politics have to do with this? There are numerous laws and requirements related to "chain of supply" verification. For instance all steel purchased for commercial purposes is required to produce mill certificates showing what the percentage is of the batch of metal used to make the steel, whether rebar or structural beams. It's to ensure the strength of the steel. The entire design and construction team reviews the certs to ensure the product purchased is the product specified.
LEED uses supply chain verification for points. Many US forestry companies have converted their entire production to FSC (or other) certification because it's easier that way, and they earn more money that way.
Gibson knew full well about all these requirements, it's no secret. They have purchasing agents sourcing material from all over the world who have to follow not only country of origin regulations but US regulations.
Either that or they don't run a very tight ship business-wise.
Regarding Gibson, I saw the
Regarding Gibson, I saw the interview above as well.
It seems like a strange law that makes the buyer responsible for something provided by the seller.
Too bad everything traces back to politics now.
Mkes you wonder where the author comes from.
According to an interview
According to an interview with the Gibson CEO, they didn't "acknowledge" breaking the Lacey Act law. They did settle because it was cheaper than fighting the DOJ. It is worthy to note that Gibson contributed to the Republicans. Interesting that they would be singled out and raided by SWAT with high powered weapons and all their expensive, legally obtained inventory was confiscated. You didn't address their side of this. It's wonderful that man is protecting the forests, but using these laws for politics is wrong.