Environmental activists target RV industry's wood-sourcing practices

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind.--- A billboard truck made its way through Elkhart County on Tuesday, displaying digital screens with messaging targeted at major recreational vehicle (RV) companies.

One screen read, "Your RVs are deforestation on wheels!" Activists following the truck carried signs displaying messages like, "RVs shouldn't kill orangutans."

This was part of a pressure campaign launched by Mighty Earth, an environmental activist non-government organization (NGO), in partnership with EKO. In August 2025, Mighty Earth authored a report linking the RV industry to rainforest deforestation in Indonesia, on the island of Borneo.

"10,000 miles of supply chain from Borneo to Elkhart, Indiana," said Mike Oles, Indiana Director for Mighty Earth.

The pressure campaign targets three RV companies: Thor, Forest River, and Winnebago. All source their wood from Patrick Industries, whose supply chain is traced back to Indonesia. All the aforementioned companies, except Winnebago, are headquartered in Elkhart County.

"As it turns out, the RV industry is the largest consumer of tropical wood in the U.S.," said Amanda Hurowitz, a senior director for Mighty Earth on its forest commodities team. "They're a major consumer of this wood, but they don't have any sustainability standards."

Hurowitz said one RV can have as much as 700 square feet of tropical wood, called meranti or Luan, in it.

"We were somewhat surprised by how much wood goes into an RV, and it's going into the structure," Hurowitz said. "One industry insider told us that an RV is essentially a meranti box on wheels."

The activists want the companies to adopt the same sustainability standards as Lowe's or Home Depot, Oles said, meaning any wood they source must come from an area certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

At least 85 percent of RVs are manufactured in Elkhart County, according to Oles, so that's why Mighty Earth chose to bring the campaign there.

The idea was to stop at each company office with the billboard truck and attempt to speak with leadership. Both Oles and Hurowitz said they have been unsuccessful at setting up a meeting with corporate RV leaders. At each stop on Tuesday, they also dropped off petition signatures, asking the various companies to adopt sustainable wood sourcing practices. One circulating petition from EKO garnered nearly 100,000 signatures.

Tuesday's route did not yield a meeting with corporate RV leadership, but Oles said this was just one phase of the ongoing pressure campaign.

"We know that when the RV industry does well, we all do well, right?" he said. "But we also need to make sure that our RVs are made in a way that is good for the planet."