Home Depot's new policy revealed- GREENWASH!

Despite telling environmentalists for the last 6 years that they wanted to
address the issue of phasing out products from the world's last remaining
old growth forests, Home Depot told RAN on March 3rd that it "does not
intend to develop an old growth policy, and never will."

We had a conversation with Home Depot's Environmental Reps Suzanne Apple
and Kim Woodbury in which they outlined for us some specifics regarding
Home Depot's new timber purchasing policy. The policy is a major
disappointment and is nothing short of a betrayal of the world's forest
ecosystems. Home Depot has refused to even address the issue of its
purchases of old growth from the world's most endangered forests. Here is
what Home Depot is committing to do:

Promote a broad but vague mission statement promoting forest conservation
and "responsible forest management practices"

1. Join the CFPC, (Certified Forest Products Council, a.k.a. the Buyer's
Group), which is a trade association promoting certified wood, to
increase annual purchases of wood that is certified as having been
sustainably harvested.
2. Continue a dialogue with vendors to explain Home Depot's new policy and
develop mechanisms to promote responsible forest management
3. Conduct an audit to determine where its wood is coming from.

Home Depot has essentially pledged to buy more "good" wood, by joining the
CFPC and promoting, for now, the Forest Stewardship Council has the best
certification scheme. The obvious danger here is that Home Depot has not
yet pledged to get rid of its "bad" wood. That is wood being ripped out of
the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest, the Amazon, Southeast Asia, and
other threatened forests. Because the company is such a large consumer of

wood products, and because it is growing so rapidly, Home Depot could
actually dramatically increase the amount of wood they are buying from old
growth forests while also buying slightly more certified wood. In order to
truly have an impact to help preserve old growth forests everywhere, Home
Depot must begin to immediately eliminate its egregious supply while it
begins to phase in more certified wood. Rule one - stop the bleeding
first!
Any policy that fails to phase out wood from the world's most endangered
forests is a complete failure.

So here's our task. It is more important now than ever that our
demonstrations on the 17th be powerful, creative and articulate. We know
the public is on our side and if we can get the message out about Home
Depot's total disregard for the world's forest we can turn them around.
Let's show them what it means to disregard the grassroots! We already
have
over 150 confirmed demonstrations and the numbers just keep on climbing.
March 17th will be the kick off of an international campaign that will show
earth destroying corporate profiteers everywhere that their time has come.
Send a message to Home Depot that selling wood from old growth forests is
simply unacceptable.Call Arthur Blank, the CEO, at 770-384-2733, send him a
letter at 2455 Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta GA 30339. Tell your friends and
family and do that last minute organizing for the 17th!

For more information about Home Depot's policy, help with media outreach or
strategic tips contact Patrick or Jen at RAN. 415-398-4404

Joining us in coalition are Action Resource Center, American Lands
Alliance,
Forest Action Network, Free-the-Planet, Rainforest Relief, Student
Environmental Action Coalition, and the Sierra Student Coalition.
Greenpeace, Sierra Club, NRDC, and WWF are also working on this issue as
many Canadian enviros.
For the forests,

Mike
Old Growth Forest Campaigner

Rainforest Action Network
221 Pine St., Suite 500
San Francisco, CA 94104
phone: 415-398-4404, fax: 415-398-2732