Wal-Mart pressed on wood origin

Is there a toy tiger in your baby’s crib? If that crib came from Wal-Mart, an environmental group says the wood it’s made from could be endangering real Siberian tigers.

The Environmental Investigation Agency, a nonprofit group based in Washington D.C., said Wednesday that it found Chinese makers of Wal-Mart’s wood products, including cribs, are using timber from a Russian region rife with illegal logging of protested forests.

The EIA said Wal-Mart is not pressing manufacturers to show where their wood comes from.

The group said that goes against Wal-Mart’s public commitment to move toward using only wood harvested in environmentally friendly ways. The commitment is part of a broad environmental push by the world’s largest retailer.

The EIA said destructive logging is a global issue but singled out Wal-Mart as the largest U.S. importer of wood products and for the power the retailer wields to pressure suppliers to go greener.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. “is turning a blind eye to illegal timber sources in its supply chain which threatens some of the world’s last great forests,” the EIA said.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart said it is encouraging its suppliers to use “sustainable and ethical sources.”

“Sustainable wood sourcing is important to our business and our customers,” Wal-Mart spokeswoman Tara Raddohl said.

Wal-Mart Chief Executive Lee Scott launched a major environmental push two years ago to cut energy use and solid waste, sell more environmentally friendly products and motivate its roughly 60,000 suppliers to follow suit.