Lacey Act of 1900 | Be a Seed for Change

A shocking new report shows direct ties between hardwood flooring giant Lumber Liquidators, organized crime, and the illegal logging of the habitat of the last 450 Siberian Tigers. This shameless disregard for the last few remaining members of the species in pursuit of cheap flooring is not only disgusting, it’s illegal under American law and has prompted a federal investigation.
Take Action: Tell Lumber Liquidators to immediately eliminate illegal hardwoods from its products.
Posing undercover as large scale lumber buyers, RAN’s awesome and much admired allies at the Environmental Investigation Agency infiltrated the worst of the worst of a shadowy network of illegal logging operations in Russia’s Far East and tracked their shipments back to their biggest customer, the largest retailer of flooring in the United States, Lumber Liquidators.
The remote area where this rapid deforestation is occurring is the last frontier of old growth hardwoods in the region and the last habitat in Russia for the highly endangered Siberian Tiger. Thanks to the US Lacey Act, amended in 2008 to ban the trade of illegal wood and forest products, this case is now under active investigation by the US Department of Justice.
For the amazing backstory of how this came to be, watch EIA’s video here and then read their recently released report Liquidating the Forests: Hardwood Flooring, Organized Crime and the World’s Last Siberian Tigers.
In order to retain even a shred of credibility, Lumber Liquidators needs to immediately and irrevocably take action to improve due diligence and bring itself into compliance with the Lacey Act. It must eliminate forest illegality, destruction and human rights violations from its supply chain. Lumber Liquidators must cut supply chain ties with Xiangjia, the supplier which is the source of this illegal hardwood, and adopt and implement a comprehensive procurement policy that ensures the company will never again be involved in destroying old growth and endangered forests, abuse of human rights and run away climate change.
The time for action is now—add your name here to send your message directly to Lumber Liquidators.

		For the forests,
		Christy Tennery Rainforest Free Paper campaigner

Urge your House rep to vote against the RELIEF Act, a Tea Party attempt to gut the Lacey Act

Did you know that almost half of all rainforest destruction is done illegally?
Government corruption, lax laws and poor enforcement result in widespread illegal deforestation across the globe. This unofficial forest clearing makes it extremely challenging to truly protect critically endangered species like the orangutan or Sumatran tiger from extinction, and it contributes enormous amounts of carbon to our atmosphere.
And now the best law on the books to prevent illegal logging worldwide—the Lacey Act—is under attack.
Please send a letter today asking your congressional representative to vote against the RELIEF Act.
The Lacey Act prohibits illegally sourced wood and wood products from being imported into the U.S. and penalizes companies that trade or sell such products. It is a powerful tool for reducing global deforestation rates and protecting jobs in the American forest products industry. It has been so successful that other countries are looking to create their own versions of it.
But the Lacey Act is now under attack by those wishing to end environmental protections and regulations. Their proposals, such as the RELIEF Act, would effectively gut the Lacey Act, reversing years of hard-fought efforts to stop international deforestation.
The RELIEF Act would directly benefit notorious forest destroyers like Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) and would allow illegal loggers around the world to operate with impunity. The result would be a flood of illegal wood into the U.S. market.
Send a message today urging your representative to vote no on the RELIEF Act and any other bill that would weaken the Lacey Act.