Gulf Restoration Network

United for a Healthy Gulf

Tell Corporate Low-Down Depot Mart to Stop Selling Cypress Mulch

Click "Start" above to watch the cartoon, and then please fill out the form below to send an email to the CEO's of Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Lowe's. By personalizing the first few lines of your email, it will have an even greater impact.

July 30, 2010

Subject:

I just watched a video about how your company is selling cypress mulch that comes from whole trees that are being clear-cut in vulnerable areas, so I'm writing to ask you to please stop selling this unsustainable product.

Kudos for the small steps your company has taken to acknowledge and address this issue, unfortunately, much more must be done to maintain important cypress ecosystems throughout the Gulf Coast region and the Southeast. Limiting your sourcing from one geographical area ignores vulnerable cypress swamps outside of Louisiana. Beyond that, without a credible certification program, your company cannot be sure of the sustainability or legality of the cypress harvests that provide your mulch.

I understand you wouldn't sell post-it  notes made from the Constitution, or paperclips made from the liberty bell, so why are you selling cypress mulch?  Cypress forests are the best natural storm and flood protection for the Gulf Coast, and they provide important habitat for wildlife, including endangered species. Whether its coming from Louisiana, Florida, or anywhere else, this product is completely at odds with your commitment to protecting the environment. Cypress trees take a long time to grow, and changing ecological conditions mean many of them will never regenerate once cut.

Your suppliers continue to state that your product is "sustainable", and I just can't believe it. How do you define sustainability exactly? There should be no place for these amazing specimens on your shelves, especially when there are readily available mulch alternatives. You can use pine straw, pine bark, melaleuca, and/or farmed eucalyptus instead of cypress.

Please live up to your corporate policies (and claims) of sustainability and immediately stop selling all cypress mulch products.

Sincerely,

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