In 1997, RR became aware that Walt Disney Corporation had built a boardwalk using the tropical hardwood ipê, a wood that is mostly illegally logged from the Brazilian Amazon and results in massive destruction of rainforests.

RR was unable to stop this boardwalk from going forward.

However, in 1999, prompted by a letter from Long Beach, CA which was generated by a Rainforest Relief campaign, Walt Disney Corporation used certified tropical hardwoods for their project called Paradise Pier at their Great California Adventure adjacent to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA (see Successes).

But Disney has never declared a policy to avoid the use of wood from endangered forests and continues to use lauan in set construction, tropical woods for other decking as well as teak and other tropical woods in their cruise ships.

For an unofficial profile of Walt Disney Corporation, click here.