Rep. Salinas, Sen. Booker Lead Eight Lawmakers in Calling on RV Industry to Remove Deforestation-Linked Timber from Supply Chains

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06), alongside Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) led eight Members of Congress in a letter urging the nation’s leading recreational vehicle manufacturers to adopt more sustainable supply chain practices and shift their sourcing of hardwood away from producers that contribute to deforestation and other devastating environmental practices.

This effort comes after an alarming New York Times investigation that uncovered how Indonesian rainforest timber harvested from environmentally sensitive regions made its way into American RVs. That logging has driven vast rainforest and peatland destruction, displacing Indigenous communities, fueling labor abuses, and threatening orangutans and other wildlife. The lawmakers stressed that the RV industry has both the duty and the means to lead the outdoor recreation industry toward responsible sourcing and stewardship without delay. The letter encouraged RV manufacturers to accelerate their switch to domestic hardwoods or composite materials.

Congresswoman Salinas and Senator Booker are joined on their letter by Reps. Val Hoyle (OR-04), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), as well as Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

Click HEREor see below for the full letter.

Dear Mr. Happe, Mr. Martin, Mr. Gaeddert, and Mr. Nemeth,

We write as Members of Congress with an interest in the health of America’s forest products industry and in responsible stewardship of natural resources.

Investigative reporting by The New York Times documents how Indonesian rainforest timber sourced from environmentally sensitive regions of Borneo has made its way into your supply chains and consequently into American recreational vehicles.

These findings are alarming. Tropical plywood, particularly meranti or lauan, has been harvested from the Mayawana Persada concession which contains carbon-rich peatlands and intact rainforest habitat critical to the survival of critically endangered Bornean orangutans, as well as other species. These actions violate Indonesia's national climate commitments and have been accompanied by egregious violations of the rights of Indigenous communities.

As the biggest consumer of tropical hardwood plywood in the United States, the RV industry bears particular responsibility for ensuring its supply chains are more suitably managed.

Many companies now vet their suppliers to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains, yet the RV industry lacks basic wood-sourcing standards. Voluntary sourcing standards have played an important role in the development of sustainable production in a wide variety of industries and, when successful, can obviate the need for stricter regulation. Retailers such as Lowe's and Home Depot, for example, have adopted wood sourcing policies that prohibit deforestation-linked timber. Outdoor recreation depends on healthy ecosystems, and sourcing deforested timber contradicts the industry’s stated values, especially when practical alternatives exist.

We strongly encourage your companies – as market leaders in your industry – to adopt robust supply chain traceability practices and wood sourcing policies that prohibit the use of timber linked to deforestation, peatland destruction, violations of Indigenous peoples' rights, or labor abuses. As part of that commitment, we urge you to require that all wood products used in your vehicles be independently certified as legal, sustainably managed, and deforestation-free – such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification or an equivalent standard. The development by your companies of new due diligence guidelines, in consultation with expert stakeholder entities, can help ensure that such policies can be effectively implemented and monitored. We would also encourage you to accelerate the switch to domestic hardwoods or composite materials to avoid the use of tropical hardwoods altogether.

Thank you for your attention to this important issue. We look forward to hearing how your companies intend to lead the outdoor recreation industry toward a commitment to responsible sourcing and responsible stewardship.

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