For Immediate Release:
November 29, 1996
RAINFOREST ACTIVISTS CONVERGE IN CHARLOTTE;
BRING MESSAGE, "STOP THE MASSACRES FOR MAHOGANY!"
Charlotte- North Carolina environmental and human rights activists kick off
the nationwide Action for Mahogany Week on Sunday, December 1 from
2:15-3:15 PM at Boyles Furniture at 7607 Nations Ford Rd. The protesters
will unfurl a gigantic 50' banner which reads, "Save the Amazon! Don't Buy
Mahogany!" The demonstration is led by the Greensboro-based group,
EarthCulture.
Latin American Mahogany is becoming endangered. Because most of the legal
stands of the wood have been cut, pirate loggers sometimes invade
indigenous and wildlife reserves, killing those who stand in their way. At
least eight Brazilian tribes have had people murdered at the hands of
mahogany loggers. "The extreme social and environmental atrocities caused
by logging mahogany make it impossible for a compassionate consumer to buy
this rare wood," says EarthCulture's Brendan Gannon. "Luxury furniture
items should not cost the lives of indigenous peoples."
The US imports more than half of all Brazilian mahogany, most of which is
stolen. Boyles has been selected as a target, because they are a large
dealer of mahogany furniture. Major users of mahogany include: Hickory
Chair, Lexington, Drexel Heritage, Universal, Karges, La-Z-Boy, Bernhardt,
Lane, Kimball, Cabot Wrenn, and Baker- many of which are North
Carolina-based companies. EarthCulture met with Thomasville Furniture
executives last month, and were told, "As long as consumers buy it, and
Brazil allows us to use it, we will use mahogany," by Senior Vice-President
Chuck Gordon.
Activists are not too discouraged by Thomasville's shortsighted stance,
however. "Mahogany use is on its way out," declares Rick Spencer, of
EarthCulture. "The mahogany boycott is spreading, the Brazilian government
has just passed a moratorium restricting its trade, and we feel CITES will
declare it an endangered species in six months." The Convention on the
International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) nearly listed mahogany
under Appendix II in 1994, and support for its listing in 1997 is growing.
The Appendix II listing would limit trade, allowing only sustainable
operations. Although the US is the leading importer of mahogany, the US
CITES delegation has supported the proposal in the past and should next
year as well.
"We are asking consumers to stop buying mahogany, in order to help save an
endangered species, the Amazon rainforest, and its indigenous peoples,"
says Spencer.
The Action for Mahogany Week will bring similar demonstrations to over a
dozen cities across the country, and will end with a demonstration at the
White House, urging Al Gore to support the CITES listing.
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(
geocities.com/rainforest)