Serious allegations against Ikea: does the furniture store use illegal wood for children's furniture?

The allegations of the environmental organization Earthsight are big: Ikea uses illegal wood from protected forests in Russia for its children's furniture.

Delft / Siberia - Ikea * likes to and often promotes the corporate philosophy, which also revolves around sustainability.

The allegations of the environmental organization Earthsight are all the more serious.

According to a report by

Spiegel

, she accuses the Swedish furniture giant of using wood in the production of its goods, which comes from protected forests and dubious clearings in Russia *.

If the allegations were proven to be true, Ikea would face damage to its image, which, as

Spiegel

reports, would also cast doubts about the usefulness of the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) sustainability label.

But one after the other.

Ikea: illegal wood from Russia?

Earthsight's allegations

The environmental protection organization Earthsight is based in London and tracks supply chains from large companies.

Last year she had caused quite a stir when she accused Ikea of ​​using illegal wood from the Carpathian Mountains (Ukraine) - the media coverage of the incident was also great in Germany.

Today the accusation is in the room that Ikea is receiving wood deliveries from Russia that come from protected forests or that were not felled in accordance with the law.

Ikea denies this and, according to

Spiegel,

points out that certified wood from Russia is used and that any discrepancies are dealt with immediately.

But this is exactly where the problem lies - because the Russian certification makes anything but a perfect impression.

Russia: Ikea receives certified wood - but is it also what it says on it?

According to

Spiegel

reports, the

central figure in Earthsight's allegations is

44-year-old entrepreneur Evgeny Bakurov from Russia. With his timber companies he seems to be at least stretching, if not completely ignoring, the protective provisions and logging regulations. Above all, the limits of sanitary felling in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, where diseased forest areas are felled to protect the rest of the forest, do not really seem to apply to Bakurov and his companies. The

mirror

writes that with the help of shady deals with local forest authorities, these were so mercilessly expanded that around 689,000 cubic meters more wood was felled than allowed.

A circumstance that has meanwhile also driven Ikea to cancel the Russian wood Bakurov from sanitary felling.

Even before the Earthsight reports went public, it can be assumed that Ikea had known about the NGO's investigations for a long time, writes

Der Spiegel

.

+

Serious allegations by the NGO Earthsight: Ikea is said to be sourcing illegal wood from Russia

© IMAGO / ITAR-TASS

Ikea with wood from Russia: shady deals, arrests and a sustainability label with problems

Earthsight is focusing on Russia for a reason. As

Spiegel

reports, almost a quarter of the wood traded worldwide comes from Russia. The European Timber Trade Directive classifies the country as a risk country that should be monitored very closely. There seems to be dubious clearing, especially in Siberia. There have been repeated investigations into illegally felled wood that comes from protected forest areas or from sanitary felling that has not been adequately approved. And yet, for example, Bakurov's Vilis company has an FSC certificate. Spicy: According to

Spiegel,

Ikea applies in particular

as a user of the sustainability label.

After various forest officials were arrested in 2019, the Irkutsk Forest Minister and Governor also had to resign.

According to

Der Spiegel

, the

FSC avoids the questions of why the dodgy practices of Vilis had remained without consequences for so long

- the forestry legislation is very complex.

Ikea: Earthsight director welcomes action, but ...

Earthsight director Sam Lawson thinks that Ikea is now acting, writes

Der Spiegel in

conclusion.

In order for something to really change, however, the governments are asked: They have to be active and the European Timber Trade Directive has to be implemented consistently.

And: The FSC has now imposed a contractually agreed deferral for wood from sanitary felling from Siberia and they are now checking the Vilis certifiers, writes

Der Spiegel

.

Incidentally, the FSC does not have to withdraw the certificate from the company - Vilis has already anticipated this.

(fh)

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