Woolworths Kills Orangutans

Big thanks to Amanda Enright at OrangAction for bringing this to our attention... ~ Rich
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Woolworths buys raw material for its "Select" brand of paper from the corrupt Indonesian company, Asian Paper and Pulp (APP). Even while other companies shun APP's environmentally and ethically tainted products, Woolworth's only motive is profit.

The General Manager - Private Label, Greg Calvert stated that their "mission is to source the best-quality and best-priced products to satisfy our customers needs". There is no room in Woolworth's selection criteria regime for good environmental stewardship - "trash and profit" is their catch-cry.

Recently Woolworths has announced that it will drop its contract with APP but the announcement was vague and many are concerned that Woolworths will re-establish its trade connections with APP once the controversy has died down.

Now is the opportune time to persuade Woolworths to stop financially profiting from rainforest destruction, indigenous impoverishment and displacement and wildlife annihilation. Tell Woolworths to cancel their contract with APP forever.

Please write to CEO Michael Luscombe at mluscombe@woolworths.com.au, Greg Calvert at gcalvert@woolworths.com.au, Woolworths Group Sustainability Manager, Armineh Mardirossian at mardirossian@woolworths.com.au and homeshop@woolworths.com.au just to send the message home.

Dear Mr Luscombe,

I wish to complain about your use of paper products sourced from the Indonesian timber company Asian Paper and Pulp (APP) in your ‘Select’ brand of paper.

Woolworths has announced that it is dropping its contract with APP, but concerned groups like "Wake Up Woolworths" have genuine concern that this vague assertion will soon be forgotten if Woolworth's past conduct is anything to go by.

Asian Paper and Pulp (APP) has one of the worst reputations of any fibre manufacturer in the world, earning the honour of “triple bottom line unsustainable”. As a result, they have been dropped as a supplier by many reputable international companies – eg. Office Depot, Wal-Mart, and Staples.

In 2004-2005 alone, 70 percent of APP's logging was in natural forests. They are notorious for converting rainforest into plantations which they then harvest unsustainably. In additional they have been caught logging illegally in both China and Indonesia. Their activities have resulted in removing indigenous people from their land and placing endangered species like the orangutan in real peril of extinction.

APP is building a road through the buffer zone of Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in Sumatra. The Perth Zoo recently released a female orangutan, Temara, into this National Park with the goal of rebuilding the orangutan population. Due to its inaccessible nature, this National Park was one of the last safe havens for orangutans on the island of Sumatra. The road will provide easy access for loggers, hunters and poachers who will undermine the zoo’s work and place the entire orangutan population of this significant National Park in great danger.

A year ago, Woolworths designed their own “environmentally friendly’ label for their ‘Select’ brand of paper sourced from APP in an attempt to fool consumers. An investigation by the ACCC resulted in Woolworths removing this false, green washing claim. And today, Woolworths continues to buy its paper products from APP even though the disgusting environmental record of this company has been brought to its full attention.

Even after Woolworths was informed of APP’s shameful involvement in the serious undermining of our own unique Australian orangutan rehabilitation and release initiative, they still have not reviewed and changed their paper sourcing decisions. If the released orangutan, Temara, falls prey to hunters that have been introduced to the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park through the road building activities of APP, Woolworth’s “Select” brand of paper products will bear witness to this sacrifice and her death will come to represent the depravity of corporate greed.

Woolworth’s decision to continue purchasing paper products from APP is an economic decision, pure and simple. The cheapest paper supplier is selling the soul of the rainforest to Woolworth’s and Woolworths is passing this terrible legacy on to all it unknowing customers. And in the process, Woolworths is undermining those Australian companies who are doing the right thing – who are purchasing their paper products locally, for a fair price, from Australian plantation timbers.

By buying from an Indonesian paper company like APP, Woolworths is supporting the unethical and often illegal deforestation practices that are directly contributing to the suffering of local people, the extinction of biodiversity and the fuelling of global warming.

Woolworths must wake up to the environmental and ethical responsibility it has to its customers. The future of rainforest habitat is of the highest critical nature. This precious natural resource is the responsibility of the world to protect, including Woolworths. Buy locally. Stop putting money into the pocket of rainforest destroyers and orangutan killers. Drop Asian Pulp and Paper as a supplier for good.

Yours sincerely,
Amanda Enright