Attempting to manage endangered and limited supplies with aesthetic demands, Taylor Guitars buys an Ebony Mill in Cameroon. For centuries - sought for its durability and sound density, highly coveted Ebony Lumber has been the maker's choice for instrument bodies, fingerboards, and trim.
Recent controversy over the illegal logging, poaching, and mismanagement of these invaluable sources, has threatened the musician instrument manufacturing industry. Due to the enactment of the Lacey Act in 2008, the improper importation of these materials to the US has threatened the livelihood of fine instrument maker's.
As a result, Taylor has sought to avoid the trap of entanglement with current laws, as experienced by competitor - Gibson Guitars (see update on the status of a US enforcement of this policy, below). Purchasing a mill in Cameroon and abiding by local labor laws, allows Taylor to control the source and sustainability of this raw material - as well as providing sustainable employment for the local economy.
See more in this article published in the LA Times by Ronald D. White, Los Angeles Times, June 7, 2012:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-taylor-ebony-20120607,0,7945909.story
UPDATE: Gibson Guitar Corp. entered into a criminal enforcement agreement with the United States, resolving a criminal investigation into allegations that the company violated the Lacey Act by illegally purchasing and importing ebony wood from Madagascar and rosewood and ebony from India...
See the rest of this article at: http://www.woodshopnews.com/component/content/article/308-august-2012-2n...
