December 2, 1998
Dear Fisher Family,
I am a member of the of the recently formed student environmental group, Mendocino Students for a Sustainable Future (MSSF). Over the past month we have been organizing a boycott of Gap products in protest of the current practices of your timber company, Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC).
Personally I have decided to boycott all Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy products, until you agree to:
- stop logging the last of the old growth trees
- stop clearcutting
- stop all winter logging which damages the coho and steelhead habitats
- stop the spraying of garlon and other herbicides.
I am particularly concerned about the spraying of garlon by MRC. Garlon is known to be harmful to human health. Citizens who have been exposed to garlon spraying near their homes have reported becoming very sick with flu-like symptoms. Some have linked garlon and other herbicides to the high percent of breast cancer in Mendocino County. Long term exposure is also known to cause liver and kidney damage. Furthermore, when the herbicides gets into the streams, it is toxic to salmonids. Garlon is damaging to many plants and animals of the delicate forest eco-system. With all this in mind, I urge you to halt the spraying of garlon immediately.
Please consider drastically altering your attitude towards your timber holdings. Instead of looking for the quick dollar, why not set a precedent for responsible timber practices in Mendocino County. Consider developing sustainable timber harvest plans that would include the employment of displaced loggers and fisherfolk.
Only when you agree to make some serious changes in the approach of your timber company, will I stop my protest of MRC practice, and my boycott of the Gap.
Sincerely,
Felicia Gealey
30161 Simpson Ln.
Fort Bragg, Ca
95437
Link to response from Sandy Dean
