In a terse open letter to top executives at Woolworths, Coles, and Metcash, the Consumer’s Alliance for Global Prosperity (CAGP), is publicizing its report “The Empires of Collusion,” which apparently proves that the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a tool used by the “greens” and “the NGOs” to “conspire to force their standard on consumers and workers across the globe…”
The letter argues that FSC certification does nothing but create trade barriers, impoverish developing economies and boost labor unions. Here are a few nuggets from the letter:
“As you know free trade is vital to ensure the marketplace is competitive, business costs are bought down and consumers have choice and access to low-cost products. It’s also vital to enable developing countries to lift themselves out of poverty.
But free trade is under attack by a collusion of greens, unions and big paper manufacturers who are using the environmental equivalent of blackmail – greenmail – to force retailers to stock FSC-certified paper products with the threat of public criticism if they don’t.
FSC-certification procurement requirements by major retailers is loved by greens, unions and developed country industry because it makes it harder for developing country imports to compete like those of Asia Pulp and Paper.”
CAGP is funded by the Washington think tank (yes, an NGO) The Institute for Liberty. I will refrain from offering a caricature moniker such as “green,” but I’ll simply note the website has masthead images of President Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
What do readers think of the report? Are greens conspiring to impoverish Indonesia?
Andrew Langer, the guy who puts this stuff out is a flabby corporate shill. Hungry for the limelight he will do and say anything to get his name in the papers. He has worked for chem companies attacking people maimed by breast implants, has denied global warming, and now he’s protecting big corporations that are destroying the most endangered rainforests in the world (indonesia). I dont understand how people like him justify their behavior.
As former FSC Leader Auditor working many yers, I can confirm that FSC is green mafia, which does not fulfill own standards, procedures. They develop green business very well in coruption contries like Russia. Red and think: fsc-russia.com
Here’s what I found out about this quasi consumer organisation organisation.
FACTSHEET: CONSUMERS ALLIANCE FOR GLOBAL PROSPERITY, CAGP
DETAILS
Consumer Alliance for Global Prosperity (CAGP) is an
astroturf front-group formed in August of 2010. They have started a campaign
they call “Pulp Wars” which attacks environmental groups and
corporations that have agreed to stop sourcing pulp products and palm oil from
Indonesia. (See CAGP report titled “Empires of Collusion”)
The spokesman for CAGP is Andrew Langer, who is the founder
and president of the Institute for Liberty (IFL), one of two listed supporters
of CAGP. The other supporter is Frontiers of Freedom, a right wing front group
funded by Exxon, the Koch brothers, and Phillip Morris.