Conservation and consumer groups representing millions of North Americans agree:
“The SFI is not a legitimate measure of sustainable forestry. Consumers wishing to conserve forests should reject the SFI’s claims.”
Interested in an environmentally sound approach to using wood and paper? Want people to know you care about the environment?
Forest certification can help ...
... depending on which certification system you choose!
Choosing products from forests certified by the independent Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) can be an important part of using wood and paper more sustainably. FSC certification is your assurance that wood and paper products come from forests that meet strict environmental and social standards.
The FSC is the choice of most conservation groups that promote certification—and of a growing number of responsible businesses, including The Home Depot, IKEA, Dell Computer, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Gap, Nike, Norm Thompson Outfitters, Starbucks, The Body Shop, and Lowe's.
But the timber industry’s Sustainable Forestry Initiative does not protect forests or deliver credible assurances. The SFI condones environmentally harmful practices including large-scale clearcutting and chemical use, logging of old growth and endangered forests, and replacement of forests by ecologically degraded tree plantations. And there’s no guarantee that many products marketed as SFI have any connection to SFI certified forests. Most other forest certification systems also permit destructive logging practices.
If you haven’t already, please consider adopting an environmentally sound wood and paper policy—and don’t buy into the SFI’s claims.
“The world’s forests support the ecological and climate processes upon which biodiversity and human life depend... Lowe’s long-term goal is to ensure that all wood products sold in our stores originate from well-managed, non-endangered forests. In order to meet this goal, Lowe’s will: ...give preference to the procurement of wood products from independently certified, well-managed forests. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is recognized as having the highest certification standards available today and will be given preference over other certification systems....”
— Lowe’s Policy on the Wood Contained in its Products