Earlier this month, the US Justice Department announced that Gibson Guitar has agreed to pay a penalty of $300,000 for illegally importing exotic wood from Madagascar. Gibson has also agreed to donate $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and was forced to sacrifice their inventory of the illegal wood, which was valued at $261,844.
In 2009, Gibson came under suspicion for importing the ebony wood, a direct violation of the Lacey Act, which requires US companies to follow domestic laws while importing wood. Madagascar has historically had a problem with illegal logging, especially with this type of ebony. Gibson has since ceased imports of the wood, which the company uses to manufacture its fretboards.
Gibson’s CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz made the following statement following the announcement:
We felt compelled to settle as the costs of proving our case at trial would have cost millions of dollars and taken a very long time to resolve. This allows us to get back to the business of making guitars.
As part of the said agreement, Gibson Guitar acknowledged its purchase of several shipments of ebony which violated a Madagascar law designed to protect endangered forests. The company has also pledged to strengthen its environmental compliance policy.
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