Environmentalists Call for Ban on Some Gifts:...

Environmentalists Call for Ban on Some Gifts: In the Christmas season’s first boycott of merchandise disliked by conservationists, San Francisco-based Rain Forest Action Network has asked holiday shoppers to avoid buying products made from imported tropical rain forest wood. The group listed the most common imports as teak, mahogany and rosewood. Teak is used in kitchen utensils and salad bowls. Teak, mahogany and rosewood veneers are used on home and office furniture. Some pencils, picture frames and tool handles are also likely to be made from rain forest wood, said the group. Some products were exempted, however. Two furniture makers, Smith & Hawken and Herman Miller, replant as much teak and mahogany as they harvest. Faber-Castell Corp. escapes the ban by using U.S.-grown cedar for its pencils.