The Dictator’s Door
From Crimes in Equatorial Guinea's Forests to Home Depot's Customers
EIA estimates that from 2017 to 2022, at least 1.2 million doors sold to American consumers are at high risk for containing illegally sourced okoume wood from Equatorial Guinea. These doors, available in more than 750 Home Depot stores across the country as of April 2023, are the product of a supply chain with roots in the Equatorial Guinean dictatorship, one of the most oppressive and corrupt regimes in the world. EIA’s findings suggest that Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement chain, and Jeld-Wen, the self-declared largest door and window manufacturer in the world, have violated the U.S. Lacey Act for years through their failure to conduct proper due care to ensure they do not use illegally sourced wood.
The Dictator’s Door identifies urgent measures that need to be taken in the U.S. if the country wants to effectively contribute to the fight against the destruction of tropical forests and transnational crime and offer concrete solutions for the climate crisis.
Read the executive summary here. Also available in French and Spanish.
Read the response from the embassy of Equatorial Guinea in the United States.
