Most wood for flooring and decking from Colombia’s Pacific and Amazon forests is exported illegally, an Environmental Investigation Agency investigation found.
Between 2020 and 2023, an estimated 94% of Colombia’s decking and flooring exports lacked the certificate required by Colombian law, according to the investigation. That included 16 U.S. firms, among them Cedro Rojo, Amazon Hardwoods, Brazilian Lumber, and Sabra International, that imported timber that lacked the legally required documentation.
About 20% of the illegal exports went to the U.S., Canada and Europe, the investigation found.
“The findings of this investigation also lay bare how some Afro-Colombian communities in Colombia’s Pacific region are coerced into logging their forests under abusive arrangements that leave them in debt, with some claiming they suffer conditions akin to slavery,” EIA’s Forest Campaign Deputy Director Susanne Breitkopf said in a statement.
Read the full report here.
