Liberty Woods Facing Lacey Act Violation Allegations

Reston, VA, October 24, 2017-Liberty Woods, a top importer of plywood in the U.S., is facing numerous allegations of indigenous rights violations, environmentally unsustainable logging and illegal logging as a result of sourcing timber in Malaysia, says Hardwood, Plywood & Veneer Association, based on reporting by Global Witness.

Mongabay also reports on Global Witness' allegations, “The sustainability and legality claims of the largest plywood importer in the U.S. have come under question after it was found to have received shipments of Malaysian plywood worth more than $500,000 from a supplier connected to environmental and human rights violations.

“The 600 cubic meters (21,200 cubic feet) of plywood that Liberty Woods bought in January 2017 came from Shin Yang, a company that operates in the Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo, according to the investigative non-profit organization Earthsight. Shin Yang, based in Miri, Sarawak, has faced repeated allegations that it does not manage its timber concessions sustainably and that it impinges on the rights of local indigenous communities, potentially making the wood it harvests illegal. A U.S. law called the Lacey Act bans companies from importing illegally cut timber.”