Friends of the Chocó was founded by Austin real estate investor, environmentalist, and philanthropist Brian Rodgers. Brian is a Home Depot shareholder and a long-time company customer. He’s also an avid bird watcher. He was visiting Ecuador in 2018 on a birding trip when he saw firsthand the logging and destruction of the magnificent rainforest.
From Brian:
“UPDATE – After a four hour meeting at Home Depot’s headquarters in Atlanta in September 2022, the company agreed to stop sourcing plywood from the Ecuadorian Chocó rainforest indigenous and third party lands. Home Depot is now doing the right thing. Thank you, Ron Jarvis of Home Depot.
With the help of conservation biologist Stuart Pimm of Duke University, Richard Donovan independent senior forest advisor, and Derek Tesser tropical forest satellite imagery specialist, we presented irrefutable proof of the ongoing destruction of one of the world’s most critically endangered biodiverse hot spots.
To their full credit—and following a five-month hard-hitting campaign—Home Depot relented. They acted responsibly, and their supplier pulled all equipment from the Chachi indigenous areas at the end of 2022. Subsequent wood anatomy testing and site visits have confirmed their compliance.
You can make a difference. Find a consumer product that harms Mother Nature. Get mad and get loud. Become a reputational risk to the brand and to the corporation.”
_______
“In 2018 I discovered that these old-growth logs were sourced by Home Depot to manufacture the company’s Sandeply. I brought my concerns to Home Depot’s Sustainability VP Ron Jarvis. Despite my attempt to get Mr. Jarvis to investigate the
situation, Home Depot did nothing.
It’s now been years. The forest has continued to be decimated. I felt like I had to take action. If not now, when? If not me who?
So with like-minded friends, I established Friends of the Chocó LLC and we launched this campaign at our own expense. We have no agenda other than getting Home Depot to stop the deforestation of old-growth forest.“