The business of supplying wreaths and garlands is one of Cascadia's largest underground industries, a capitalistic frenzy complete with undocumented workers and violence.
That's the picture, according to Marketplace, of the wholesale market for wild forest greens, a business about a fourth the size of Washington's apple industry. A Washington State University professor says it's like a gold rush, with 175 different forest materials that can be sold, from yew bark for the cancer drug Taxol to decorative moss.
Unlike with apples, labor practices and environmental impacts in the woods go largely unchecked. To curb violations of forest permits and abuses of workers, the Washington department of labor wants to regulate the supply chain. Warehouse owners who would have to pay more predictably say that would crush their industry.