October 1, 2000
Dear Fisher Family,
Recently I have learned that your family, founders and executives have purchased 235,000 acres of Redwood forests in Mendocino and Sonoma counties from the Louisiana Pacific Corporation. The Coast Redwood forest and its dependent communities of people and wildlife have already greatly suffered from years of logging in that area. I have also heard that Gap uses sweatshop labor for the production of their clothing.
Environmental groups have called a boycott of Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Gap Kids stores until your family begins to make some changes, and to let you know that I will not support your companies in any way as long as they are involved in effecting our environment negatively.
Your family has reported a fortune of over 11 billion dollars from Gap clothing stores. You have the power to effect our sacred earth and the lives of many people and animals in a strong and positive way. Instead of increasing the abundance of income that you already have, could you not use that greatly needed money to establish recovery programs for the already damaged forests? Please educate yourselves on the harmful effects of using herbicides that poison people, animals, water and soil. Please pay the extra money it takes to compensate your workers fairly and give them humane living conditions. And, from the deepest part of my heart, I am begging you to stop clear cutting and logging the last of the old growth redwoods. These forests are sacred and greatly loved for their beauty, spirituality and magic. Please don't take away some of the last remaining old growth forest that are a part of us, needed and loved. If not for anyone else keep these forest alive for your sons and daughters and for their children to breath the clean air, see and feel the beauty of nature and feel the strength an power of our earth.
Mendocino Redwood Company's response
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