Why we suggest taking photos on site visits

Due diligence for illegally logged wood is it is not always about having the right document or certificate. Some documents can also be easily falsified or misrepresented.

That is why we suggest that importers who visit the factories that make their products take photographs. Photographs can be useful evidence to demonstrate the type of timber or paper used in a product and its source.

For example, an importer with a substantial public profile imports oak flooring manufactured in China. Oak can be sourced from many countries – some with a high prevalence of illegal logging (such as Russia), some low (such as USA and France). When visiting the manufacturing site, he not only does a spot check on the invoices for the purchase of the Oak from United States - he also takes photos of the wrapped and labelled packs of American Oak imported from United States as evidence of his due diligence. Easy-peasy!