The Samling Group has denied exporting illegally sourced timber to the U.S., saying there is "no truth whatsoever" in allegations made by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) in July.
The EIA based its allegations on a Greenpeace Australia report that detailed how an Australian subsidiary of Samling could be selling illegally sourced plywood to U.S. importers. In May 2008, the U.S.'s 100-year-old Lacey Act was amended to ban commerce in illegally sourced wood and wood products, including wood flooring.
According to a letter from Samling COO James Ho: "While we respect the role of the Environmental Investigation Agency and Greenpeace as environmental lobby groups, we take a serious view of the inaccurate, unverified and misleading allegations contained in their reports in pursuit of sensational news-making … We wish to state categorically that all Samling timber and timber products are legal.
"We have not, and would never, in any way jeopardize our integrity or compromise our customer's reputation by selling illegally sourced wood products."
Ho's letter goes on to state that Samling's operations are in full compliance with the Lacey Act, therefore, making all of his company's products "legal" under the act.
