He that pays the piper calls the tune

Katy Brown investigates the musical instrument industry and discovers some disharmonies.

This report looks at electric guitars. The guitar market is almost exclusively dominated by US companies.

Wood Worries

Most electric guitars are made predominantly from wood. Currently much of this wood is not sustainably harvested, and many species prized for their suitability for musical instrument making, so-called tonewoods, are becoming increasingly threatened. Ebony, for example, is one of the most sought after woods for guitar fingerboards. In virtually all regions ebony has become endangered through over exploitation, in part for musical instruments, with some species already extinct. Mahogany, which is found in guitar necks and bodies is now endangered as a result of centuries of indiscriminate (and increasingly illegal) logging and is now listed under the global Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).(2)

In response Greenpeace USA has set up the Music Wood Campaign which is partnering with the music industry to protect threatened forest habitats and safeguard the future of trees critical to making musical instruments. Greenpeace claims that although musical instrument manufacturing is not the driving force behind the loss of critical forest habitat, instrument makers are uniquely positioned to lead the way in sustainability, and can help reshape forest management to protect some of the most threatened forests and valuable timber species in the world.

As Scott Paul, Forest Campaign Coordinator for Greenpeace says 'In a sense, walking into a music store is like walking through all the Earth's most important forest regions all at once. Many of the most exotic and rare woods are all around. Greenpeace is working with instrument-makers for a simple reason: we both want there to be ancient forests forever. By taking responsibility and working together we can be a very powerful force.'

Gibson and Fender are part of a coalition of companies currently working with Greenpeace to bring forestry practices in South-East Alaska, up to Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) standards. Sitka Spruce, which only exists in these forests is the predominant wood used for soundboards for acoustic guitars which both Fender and Gibson make. Clear-cutting is currently the usual practice for harvesting this wood. The FSC is the global standard setter for responsible forestry guaranteeing that wood is sustainably harvested as well as addressing social issues, helping to ensure that the needs of people who depend on forests for their economic, cultural, and recreational values are considered.

Gibson was the first electric guitar company to pioneer sustainable forestry in 1996 when it brought out the first FSC-certified guitar. The Les Paul SmartWood is made from wood certified by the Rainforest Alliance which is accredited by the FSC, but would set you back $1,159 (around £620). Gibson currently source FSC accredited wood from Guatemala and Honduras where the company is prepared to pay up to four times the market price to guarantee that the wood is sustainably harvested. Gibson is gradually moving closer to its goal of using 100% certified wood and the majority of Gibson products now have SmartWood content.

Says Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson chairman and CEO. "Ultimately, our goal is not to promote certified-wood guitars as something special, but to bring our industry to a point where the use of certified wood is standard procedure. We utilize sustainable harvested wood as much as possible with all of our models."

Meanwhile a small UK company, Gordon-Smith Guitars, which comes top of the table, manages to source all of its wood from FSC-certified forests and manufactures all of its guitars in its workshop in Manchester, the cheapest of which comes in at £394.

Workers' rights

A great deal of guitar manufacturing, like many other consumer products, has now relocated to the far-east. With the exception of Rickenbacker and Gordon-Smith, all of the guitar companies covered in this report manufacture their cheaper models in China, where workers are deprived of the right to organize freely, form independent trade unions or engage in collective bargaining. A variety of anti-union tactics are used by the state to control workers, including repression of industrial action and imprisonment of those fighting for workers' rights.(1) Child labour remains a problem in China and forced labour exists in such forms as prison labour and legal punishment in the form of "re-education-through-labour".

Yamaha manufactures its high-end guitars in Japan, mid-range in Indonesia and the rest in China. The Indonesian 'Manpower Act' meets many, but not all, of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards on fundamental human rights at work. Notably, it still does not comply with the child labour conventions. Frequently, when workers try to set up trade unions, companies either terminate their employment or demote union leaders and members, making workers afraid to organise or join a union.(1) Despite the fact that the labour laws apply in Indonesia's country's seven Export Processing Zones (EPZs), there is generally stronger anti-union sentiment in these areas. It is likely that Indonesian guitars for export are manufactured in these EPZ's.

With the exceptions of Yamaha and Gordon-Smith all of the guitar manufacturing companies in this report offer some models made in US factories. These models tend to be at the higher end of the market and therefore more expensive. US manufacture may indicate better conditions for the workers that make them, although there is no guarantee; the US still heavily restricts workers' trade union rights and there are continuing problems with child labour.(1)

Alternatives

Buying second-hand is usually a cheaper and less environmentally damaging option than buying new. Try E-bay or Freecycle (www.ebay.com, www.freecycle.com)

Electric guitars may be produced by smaller local suppliers. With the exception of Gordon-Smith, we have not included these in this report for reasons of space. If you are aware of any other small electric guitar makers with ethical sourcing policies please let us know.

Links

• Forestry Stewardship Council, FSC UK, 11-13 Great Oak Street, Llanidloes, Powys, SY18 6BU Tel: 01686 413916 Email: info@fsc-uk.org www.fsc-uk.org
• The Global Trees Campaign runs the SoundWood programme, and includes a directory of instruments makers which it endorses and covers a range of musical instruments. (Found in the projects section of its website www.globaltrees.org/proj.asp). C/o Fauna & Flora International, Great Eastern House, Tenison Road, Cambridge, CB1 2TT Tel: 01223 571000 Email: soundwood@fauna-flora. www.globaltrees.org
• Greenpeace Music Wood Campaign, Greenpeace, 702 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20001 Tel:+001 202 462-1177 Email: info@wdc.greenpeace.org www.musicwood.org
• International Labour Organisation, International Labour Office, 4, route des Morillons, CH-1211, Geneva 22, Switzerland. Tel: +41.22.799.6111 E-mail: ilo@ilo.org www.ilo.org
• Labour Behind the Label, 38 Exchange St, Norwich NR2 1AX, England, Tel: 01603 666160, info@labourbehindthelabel.org, www.labourbehindthelabel.org
• The Rainforest Alliance, 665 Broadway, Suite 500, New York, NY10012, USA. Tel: +001 212 667 1900 Email: info@ra.org www.rainforest-alliance.org

References

1. www.icftu.org viewed 8/09/06
2. www.musicwood.org viewed 8/09/06
3. www.world.casio.com/corporate/ viewed 17/08/06