Helping society, environment part of company's mission
By Tom Edmonds -- Furniture Today, March 3, 2002
LIMA , Peru — For South Cone Trading, the new conservation and economic development initiative for the Amazon forest is just the latest in a series of "do the right thing" efforts.
The 15-year-old company, which supplies higher-end furniture stores across North America, is already the first Peruvian company to receive chain-of-custody certification according to the principles of the Forest Stewardship Council.
About 20% of South Cone's products are made with FSC-certified wood supplied from Bolivia.
Gerry Cooklin, South Cone president, is a native of Peru who has made good selling furniture in the United States. Cooklin realized he wanted to do something about preservation and conservation of the Peruvian forests several years ago while hiking in the Sierras of Northern California.
"Peru is so incredibly backwards in forest management, and the people have no other means of supporting themselves. They don't know any better, and their only resource is wood," he said. "I realized I was in a position to do something to help. I started digging for information and looking for the right angle to make a difference."
Cooklin, 38, is the type of charismatic leader who gets others to join his quests. South Cone's staff and managers are dedicated to his Giving Back Initiatives, even if it involves extra work and more record keeping.
"Success is much more than just short-term profitability," said Jose Garrido Lecca, chief operating officer. "For us, success means fulfilling society's fundamental needs, or always seeking to benefit the greater good. South Cone is trying to be a trend setter in design, sales and sustainability."
In the company's factory, employees are responsible for measuring their own performance. Empowerment, Garrido Lecca said, creates "more value for our employees and for us as a company."
And that is what Cooklin wants to do with the forest sustainability initiative, PaTS: add value.
"The U.S. government is very interested in eradicating coke, but in order to do that, you have to give the people in the jungle something else to do," he said. "Why do people in the jungle grow coca? They can sell it to a drug dealer who has a distribution network in the U.S. There's a big value added.
"It is very similar to what we are trying to do with lumber. They can grow it, harvest it and add value with sawmills. Then a manufacturer can add further value, find distribution and place it in a high-end consumer market," he said.
Cooklin has invested more than $500,000 in PaTS. He is looking to gain financial support from conservation organizations and private contributors, including the furniture industry.
Over time, he also hopes to make conservation a marketing advantage for South Cone, although that's not the reason he is supporting PaTS.
"Once we starting tagging our pieces, we're going to add some information for the consumer so that they can learn not only about the rainforest, but where the tree came from that made their furniture," he said. "Conserving the earth is an issue that's important to people, not just a few tree huggers like me."
| Cooklin |
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Protecting the woods
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Sout Cone works to preserve rainforest
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