Orangutan habitat is being destroyed in Indonesia – not for palm oil, not
for soy, but for one precious type of tree that the RV industry uses to
make its camper vans. And the RV-makers have *zero* sustainability
standards right now! 

Let’s call the big names like Winnebago and Jayco out – tell them we want
to enjoy nature in deforestation-free camper vans:

[ [link removed] ] Sign the petition 

   
John,

Camper vans have become increasingly popular and a symbol for recreation
in pristine nature – but the truth is, they are deforested orangutan
habitats on wheels.

A breaking report revealed that one rogue logging company has clear cut
40,000 hectares of rainforest in Indonesian Borneo in just 5 years – to
harvest a particularly hard-yet-flexible wood called lauan that is then
sold to major RV (camper van) makers in the U.S., Australia and Europe.

The deforestation and Indigenous landgrab was so rampant that the
government recently issued a stop-work order. But the RV industry has
currently no sustainability standards *at all*. We need to act now to stop
more rainforest being bulldozed for the Global North's leisure. Let’s call
the world’s largest RV makers out so they can’t fly under the radar
anymore. Add your name:

[ [link removed] ]Winnebago, Jayco, Forest River: Clean up your tropical wood supply
chain immediately.

The latest report from our partners shows: Just one logging company in
Indonesia, Mayawana Persada, has cleared tens of thousands of soccer
fields worth of carbon-rich peatland and orangutan habitat to make plywood
that was shipped abroad to the United States and likely made its way into
RVs made by Winnebago, Jayco, and Forest River.

For comparison: Even with a bad case of palm oil deforestation, we’d be
talking about 1,000 hectares at best. And while today the palm oil
industry has to follow strict sustainability reporting and is under
constant scrutiny – thanks to ongoing public pressure for over 2 decades –
the RV industry isn’t even fulfilling the lowest level of certification,
which is the FSC-standard.

But, together with our partners, if we launch a massive publicity
campaign, we could drag RV makers into the spotlight and make them adopt
basic sustainability standards immediately. They claim that there’s no
alternative (of course there is), and that they’re doing enough (they’re
not, e.g. compared to Lowe’s or Home Depot), so let’s call them out for
their massive deforestation problem:

[ [link removed] ]Winnebago, Jayco, Forest River: Clean up your tropical wood supply
chain immediately - implement the FSC standard now!

When the palm oil industry exploded a little over two decades ago, there
were zero sustainability standards – and it devastated Indonesia’s
rainforests like nothing else. But tenacious public pressure from workers,
consumers, and activists – and people like our Ekō-members – led to strict
regulations and reporting so that palm oil deforestation went down over
90% in just 10 years. Let’s make sure the RV industry is being held to
account before it’s too late.



[ [link removed] ] Sign the petition 



Thanks for all that you do,
Rosa and the team at Ekō


More information:

[ [link removed] ]How American recreational vehicles came to destroy orangutan habitat in
Indonesia
Mighty Earth. August, 2025

[ [link removed] ]US demand for RVs fuels deforestation on Indonesia's Borneo: NGOs
France24. 20 August, 2025

 

 

Ekō is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

Please help keep Ekō strong by chipping in $3. [link removed]