On August 24, federal agents raided iconic guitar maker Gibson Guitar Corporation facilities in Nashville and Memphis, making off with an estimated $1 million worth of Gibson property. Gibson's alleged crime? Using imported wood from endangered trees. At least that's what the company assumes the feds have in mind. The raid appear to stem from allegations that Gibson imported wood from foreign countries in violation of the Lacey Act.
Originally enacted to prevent trafficking in endangered species, the act was amended in 2008 to include plants. According to the Rainforest Alliance:
the law makes it illegal to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any plant, with some limited exceptions, taken or traded in violation of the laws of the U.S., a U.S. State, or relevant foreign law. The U.S. government can use this law to impose significant penalties on individuals and companies who are found guilty of such acts.
As the legendary guitar riff of Sweet Child of Mine - blared through Cowboys Stadium at this year's Super Bowl halftime show, did Slash's guitar secretly have an appetite for destruction?
The first time in 2009, Gibson Guitars' Nashville headquarters was raided by federal agents who seized guitar parts that may have been harvested illegally in Madagascar. Welcome to the jungle of illegal timber.
The raid instantly made Gibson into one of the most visible examples of enforcement of the U.S. Lacey Act amendments, which outlaws illegal timber sales. One of Gibson's suppliers was threatened with jail time and the company faces fines if the United States Department of Agriculture finds that the wood was illegally harvested. Though the company has not been formally charged with any wrongdoing, damage to the company's brand has already been done.
The Lacey Act, which has been around since 1900, combats trafficking of illegal wildlife, fish and plants. The US Congress expanded the act in 2008 to include most plants and plant products, making the United States the first in the world to make it a legal offense to import illegally harvested wood. Companies that import timber products are required to demonstrate due care - in taking appropriate measures to verify that their wood was harvested in compliance with local laws.
Did Gibson get singled out unfairly? The company's CEO certainly feels that they did. As a longtime buyer of wood certified to the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (a respected nonprofit dedicated to responsible forestry), Gibson is known as one of the good guys - in responsible forest practices. The investigation came as a shock to the industry, but illegal timber can trip up even the most environmentally-focused companies because of hazy, cross-border supply chains.
The musical instrument industry has an especially high risk of sourcing endangered or poached wood because of its reliance on traditional exotic tonewoods for instruments parts, such as guitar backs, sides and fret boards. Because timber supply chains pass through developing countries, it can be difficult to track the exact origins of the wood. Gibson was accused of importing ebony and rosewood for its fingerboards, which have been illegal to harvest in Madagascar since 1996.