For Immediate Release
Joint Media Release- Rainforest Action & Indonesian Human Rights Committee
10am Friday 30th January

Four weeks of protests for Auckland furniture shops selling Kwila

Rainforest Action and the Indonesian Human Rights Committee are planning a month of protests outside all Auckland stores of the nationwide furniture chain Four Seasons, in response to the company’s continued selling of outdoor furniture made from illegally logged Kwila. The protests will run over four consecutive Saturdays from 1pm-3pm, beginning on January 31st.

Kwila, a tropical hardwood is logged in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea and in Indonesian occupied West Papua. The New Zealand Government has estimated that 80% of Kwila imports are illegally logged. Projections of current Kwila stands predict that if current logging rates continue the tree will be extinct in the wild in less than 35 years.

Rainforest Action spokesperson Ryan Bodman said, “Other Kiwi companies including The Warehouse and Harvey Norman have accepted that selling rainforest Kwila is unethical and unsustainable and have either stopped stocking it or have begun to phase it out. Four Seasons continues to market and sell Kwila, knowing full well that in doing so they contribute to rainforest destruction and the human rights abuses that come hand in hand with the operations of the forestry corporations and the Indonesian military.”

“Enjoying a BBQ cooked meal on an outside table is a great thing to do during summer but there are plenty of products made of sustainable wood which avoid the human and environmental impacts of Kwila furniture,” continued Mr. Bodman.

The logging of Kwila means the loss of livelihood for indigenous tribe’s people who rely on these ancient forests for food, water and medicine.

“The United Nations states that rainforest destruction continues to be the biggest human contribution to climate change. If Four Seasons continues to sell kwila then they will continue to be the target of protests by people who want to stop climate change and support the Papuan people in their struggle for self-determination,” concluded Mr. Bodman.

The demonstrations will be held at the Four Seasons stores in Wairau Park, Henderson and Botany. It is hoped that by the end of the month Four Seasons will have recognised that rainforest plundered Kwila has no place in New Zealand. Four Seasons has already been the target of a series of protests outside their Wairau Park store.

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