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Tell Nippon Paper: Stop Buying Tasmanian Old Growth!
Tell Nippon Paper: Stop Buying Tasmanian Old Growth! On one hand, Nippon Paper is the biggest buyer of old growth woodchips from the infamous logging company Gunns. This makes Nippon the leading supporter of Gunns' destruction of Tasmania's ancient forests. 
On the other hand, Nippon has promised its customers that it does not buy wood from old growth or high conservation value forests, and that Gunns' logging operations meet FSC standards -- none of which is true. If Nippon would simply stop buying these woodchips it would be a huge step toward the survival of Tasmania's magnificent forests. Help us demand that Nippon fulfill its policy pledges and stop buying old growth wood from Gunns... fill out the form to the right to send your message to Nippon Paper today!
Dear [ Decision Maker ] , I am writing to you after learning that your company buys wood from Gunns Limited, including woodchips sourced from Tasmania's old growth and environmentally sensitive forests. Gunns' logging practices include massive clearcutting of old-growth forests, firebombing the cleared land, and exterminating native wildlife. I have heard Nippon Paper claim that the company does not buy old-growth wood and that those forests are protected in Tasmania. But Tasmania's old-growth forests are routinely logged by Gunns; even the Australian government admits that at least 2,500 hectares of official old-growth forests are logged every year. Perhaps your company has been duped by false information from Gunns or Australian forestry officials -- I believe it would benefit you to check your facts before passing inaccurate information on to your customers. Unfortunately, these official figures do not adequately reflect how much damage Gunns' logging does to Tasmania's forests and wildlife. For example, the Wielangta legal ruling this past year by Australia's federal court found that Gunns' logging was illegal because it was harming endangered species, including Tasmania's wedge-tailed eagle. The ruling applies to most of Gunns' logging in Tasmania, meaning that any wood Nippon buys from Gunns may have come from areas where endangered species were harmed. Further, the Wielangta logging was certified by the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS), a process by which high conservation value forests and habitats for endangered species are converted to plantations and other uses. The AFS therefore cannot ensure that your supply does not include woodchips from critical areas, in violation of Nippon's procurement policy. I sincerely hope you take steps to correct this problem immediately. As a major paper supplier and a global company, Nippon has the opportunity to use its purchasing decisions to have a strong impact upon sustainable forestry in Tasmania and elsewhere. I strongly urge you to stop buying products derived from old growth or high conservation-value forests, including the woodchips produced by your supplier Gunns. I will be discussing the issue of Tasmania, Gunns and its Japanese customers in my local community, and would appreciate a specific response from you on this topic. I will be urging consumers and members of the business community to cease doing business with companies that participate in unsustainable forestry practices, as I believe Nippon Paper currently does. Please do the right thing, so that I can tell my friends and neighbors that you have taken appropriate action.
Sincerely, |
Campaign Launched: |
| Background Information |
Nippon Paper is the biggest buyer of Gunns' old growth woodchips -- purchasing over 1,400,000 tons last year -- and the second largest paper company in Japan. Nippon's purchases of these woodchips is a driving force behind Gunns' destruction of Tasmania's ancient forests. Moreover, since Gunns' practices are so bad that even dubious companies like APP (Asia Pulp & Paper) won't buy from them, it seems likely that if Nippon would stop their purchases Gunns would have a hard time selling their old growth wood elsewhere and therefore a huge step towards protection for Tasmania's ancient forests would be achieved.
A few quick facts about the infamous practices of Gunns Ltd:
- They have clear-cut thousands of acres of old-growth forests in Tasmania (Australian island)
- They firebomb the cleared land
- They have poisoned hundreds of thousands of protected species with 1080 poison
- They have attacked on freedom of speech of citizens in Australia
Nippon has promised its customers that it does not buy wood from old growth or high conservation value forests, and that Gunns' logging operations meet FSC standards -- none of which is remotely true. This information reportedly comes from Gunns and Australian forestry officials, and Nippon has accepted it as fact, despite that anyone in Tasmania knows that this is false. Even the Australian government has disclosed that at least 2,500 hectares of old growth are logged annually in Tasmania.
For more information:
Having Gunns' biggest customer drop its orders for old growth wood could be a tremendous step for the campaign for Tasmania's forests. Your voice can be a powerful tool in the campaign to finally save Tasmania's magnificent forests.
You can take action by:
