In just 10 years China has gone from being a net importer of wood products to being the world’s leading exporter of furniture, plywood and wood flooring, the Tropical Forest Trust said.
While some of these logs were undoubtedly from legal — and therefore sustainable — sources, supply chains were so long, varied and opaque that the origin of much of the wood was unverifiable, the Geneva-based charity said.
"If European and U.S. companies and consumers increase their demand for legally-certified wood products, it will inspire a change in the companies’ wood purchasing practices in China," TFT executive director Scott Poynton said.
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photo by Xiaming