A new SumOfUs campaign is mobilising public support to bring about change at Ikea
Ikea chairs linked to illegal Ukrainian timber in Earthsight's Flatpacked Forests report.
A petition launched today by SumOfUs, in partnership with
Earthsight, adds yet more pressure on Ikea and the Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC) to implement serious change following our recent investigation.
SumOfUs, the global advocacy non-profit, created the
petition in response to Flatpacked Forests, our June report which
uncovered how illegal timber logged from Ukraine’s Carpathian forests, home to
some of Europe’s last bears and lynx, was being used in Ikea chairs and
furniture sold worldwide.
The investigation
garnered widespread media attention, including a major report by Channel 4 News
in the UK, and while Ikea has since promised to investigate our findings and
the Ukraine Prime Minister pledged
a national crackdown on illegal logging, we believe Ikea can, and must go
further.
The SumOfUs campaign, Ikea: Cheap chairs aren't worth the destruction of our natural
forests, urges the Swedish retail giant to commit to truly independent
investigations of its supply chains, calls on it to help reform the FSC and
seeks for Ikea to remove all virgin wood from its production. To sustain its
enormous growth, Ikea currently uses one tree every second to make
its flatpacked products, making it the largest consumer of wood on the planet.
“It's not sustainable -- it's rampant corporate greed. In
the short term, Ikea must conduct a 100 per cent independent investigation of
all of its timber suppliers in high-risk countries such as Ukraine, Belarus and
Russia, and demand reform of the FSC to ensure its certified wood is truly
sustainable,” the campaign reads.
“In the long term, it must set ambitious targets for phasing
out wood from natural forests -- and eventually, for eliminating the use of
virgin wood altogether.”
For its part, FSC – the global timber sustainability scheme
relied upon by Ikea and others for their green credentials – has so far issued
nothing but smokescreens and denials. We hope this new public campaign will
help to instigate constructive dialogue and ultimately drive structural reform
within the organisation.
Tara Ganesh, Earthsight’s head of timber investigations, said:
“We are delighted that SumOfUs is mobilising their supporters, many of whom are
no doubt also Ikea consumers, to help bring real change at the world’s largest
furniture company and best-known consumer label for wood.
“The environmental destruction we found in Ikea’s supply
chain is likely to be only the tip of the iceberg. But by taking these large
strides now, Ikea can become a leader in the battle against the global illegal
logging epidemic. The future of forests depends on it.”
