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Depending on the type of certification, choosing certified paper either ensures that the paper comes from responsibly managed forests, is chlorine-free, or has a high percentage of postconsumer waste (PCW) content.

Find it! Certified paper

Some companies that offer certified paper and their certifiers (e.g., Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), EcoLogo, Chlorine Free Products Association (CFPA), Green Seal, etc.) are listed here:

Choosing certified paper helps you go green because...

• Independent certification labels helps remove the guesswork as to whether a product is truly “green.”
• Wood products certification is meant to ensure that the pulp used came from forests that were managed in a sustainable manner.
• Chlorine-free product certification means the products were made in a process that did not include bleaching with chlorine, and releasing toxins into the environment.

The demand for environmentally responsible products has helped to boost independent, third-party certification, especially forest certification, as a credible and effective tool to communicate a company’s environmental responsibility.[1] Using a set of standards, these third-party certification bodies help to ensure that products are produced in a sustainable manner. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) are the leading forest certification organizations and use a range of indicators involving environmental, social, and economic factors.[2] The Chlorine Free Products Association (CFPA) is an independent nonprofit accreditation organization that serves to highlight products with little or no chlorine.[3] Green Seal is another independent nonprofit organization that uses science-based certification standards on a variety of consumer products, such as paint, paper, windows, cleaners, etc.[4] EcoLogo is one of the oldest certification programs in North America with certified products in over 120 categories.[5]

Controversies

One of the controversies to emerge regarding forest certification is the notion of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) vs. SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative), the two primary standards for forest certification, SFI emerged from the American Forest and Paper Association (AFPA), the forest industry trade association.[6] FSC, on the other hand, evolved as an international nonprofit organization built from meetings with timber traders and environmental and human rights organizations.[7]

Due to SFI’s ties to the forest industry, critics charged SFI as lacking independence, accepting the practices of logging old-growth and endangered forests, replacing natural forests with tree plantations, and allowing the excessive use of chemicals.[8]
In an effort to refute this long-time and widespread criticism, in January 2007, the SFI program broke away from the AFPA and became a fully independent nonprofit organization, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Inc. The new SFI boasts an independent Board of Directors, which includes members of environmental and conservation groups.[6]

External links

• American Forest & Paper Association (AFPA)
• Natural Resources Defense Council - Good Wood: How Forest Certification Helps the Environment
• Credible Forest Certification
• Yale University Forestry Program - FAQs about Forest Certification
• MAC Papers: Certified Labels