China is a key player in an illegal trade that could push some tropical hardwood species to extinction, say activists. However, the West deserves a black eye for providing a market for the finished product.
China is at the heart of a trade that is pushing some tropical trees towards extinction, environmental groups say.
One such is the tropical merbau tree, says Greenpeace.
Merbau trees that are mostly felled illegally are being shipped to China, where import rules are lax, the group claims.
This timber is then turned into finished products before being exported to Europe, North America and Australia.
Environmental campaigners want Chinese manufacturers and Western retailers to help end the illegal logging. ...
Retailer Floors-2-Go, which has 140 stores across the UK, stopped selling merbau flooring last year because of concerns over the source of the wood.
But Allied Carpets is still selling merbau flooring without being able to guarantee the wood is from legitimate sources.