BRATTLEBORO — Your shiny new oak flooring took habitat from the endangered Amur tiger. That ream of paper you just brought home? It included fiber from trees stolen from a U.S. National Park. And the cedar decking you just installed was felled in a protected rainforest, with proceeds from its sale used to fund the illegal drug trade.
Or was it?
If you don't know whether those scenarios could apply to you or your business, it's time to take a look at the Lacey Act and related international laws and treaties.
Aimed at shutting down markets for illegally hunted and harvested wildlife throughout the world, the Lacey Act is a U.S. law from the early 1900s that was amended in 2008 to apply to plant materials, including wood products.
In October, Virginia-based Lumber Liquidators paid more than $13 million in fines, community service payments, and forfeited proceeds related to illegal importation of hardwood flooring under the Lacey Act. In 2012, Gibson Guitars paid $350,000 in fines and community service payments as a result of its importation of Madagascar ebony.
The Lacey Act has been a model for similar legislation in the European Union and Australia, but it remains the most sweeping law of its kind in the world.
Lacey covers the most materials and products, and it encompasses the largest swath of the supply chain. Individuals or companies should know, in the federal government's judgment, that they are importing, exporting, transporting, selling, receiving, acquiring, purchasing, or in possession of illegal wood or paper products - and they can be fined or face criminal charges.
Who “should” know, and how?
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It's unclear where the buck might stop, but experts in Lacey Act compliance recommend crafting what's known as a “due-care plan” based on common sense rather than fear.
“The way Lacey is written is very, very broad,” acknowledges Leonard Krause, vice president of the consulting company Compliance Specialists and the coauthor of Complying with the Lacey Act: A Real-World Guide. “The government is not going to release anyone from liability in advance.”
In theory, the feds could prosecute private citizens or small-business owners for purchasing or possessing illegally sourced wood and paper products. But even though “the government has the power to go after anybody they want,” Krause says, “in reality they're not going to do this.”
High-profile prosecutions under the Lacey Act since the 2008 amendment support Krause's assertion.
In cases against Gibson Guitars and Lumber Liquidators, only these two importers faced legal action. The government did not pursue retailers who sold the guitars, for example, or homebuilders or homeowners who installed the illegally sourced flooring.
Despite this precedent, experts say business owners should develop a “due-care plan” appropriate to their role as a selector, specifier, purchaser, or installer of wood and paper products.
A due-care plan can be simple and straightforward, according to Elizabeth Baldwin, environmental compliance officer at Metropolitan Hardwood Floors, Inc. But there's no substitute for having such a plan.
Certifications alone are not adequate for business owners, for example, nor is sourcing exclusively domestic wood. “Most would consider U.S. wood low risk, but that is not the same as no risk,” Baldwin said.
In another high-profile Lacey case, for example, a lumber mill in Washington was indicted for buying maple poached from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. “Professionals have a responsibility to conduct due care for U.S. purchases as well,” she noted.
Furthermore, Baldwin added, “We should be encouraging good behavior by buying from good actors in higher-risk countries. If you walk away from the market, you are leaving the market to those who don't care.”
Baldwin cautions against asking for import papers or other documentation that's not within your normal professional scope.
“Largely, a lot of due care as you go further downstream from the source is really just selecting carefully the companies you work with,” she said.
Depending on their role in the supply chain, some professionals “don't have to understand or vet the entire supply chain themselves; rather, they should have confidence that they are working with companies that do.” (See the sidebar for Baldwin's suggested questions for suppliers.)
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Although private citizens don't craft due-care plans, most would be reluctant to fund terrorism, civil wars, or organized crime with paper and wood purchases.
Consumers have less control and less buying power than businesses do in the supply chain, so looking for a credible environmental label is a realistic fallback.
The simplest way for individual shoppers to support better sourcing practices is to buy wood and paper products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. When purchasing furniture, lumber, or other wood products that might contain tropical hardwoods, seek out a retailer that has a readily available policy on Lacey Act compliance.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, greater supply-chain vigilance really can have an impact. A 2014 UCS study of the effect of the Lacey Act on illegal harvesting suggested a correlation between the 2008 amendment and a “substantial decline” in illegal imports to the U.S. The group recommends better enforcement to continue to uproot this black market's foothold in U.S. soil.