The Sustainable Forestry Initiative is a non-profit organization founded by the American Forest and Paper Association, the American timber industry's trade association, to provide a forest certification program. As of January 1, 2007, the SFI program became independent, being governed by an independent board of directors that includes nonprofit environmental groups and forest products companies.

Many conservationists view the SFI as an attempt to co-opt a rival international certification system launched by the Forest Stewardship Council^[1] and being greenwash.^[2] At least some of the environmental groups on the SFI board appear to accept funding from timber companies.^[3] The Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation, Greenpeace, and many major environmental organizations claim that

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.^[4]

SFI states that it relies on independent, third-party audits and has certified over 150 million acres (510,000 km²) of land. In 2005, the SFI Standard was endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). The PEFC, also a timber-industry founded group, has been similarly challenged by environmental organizations. ^[5]

SFI has certified the most ecologically devastating clearcuts in the American southeast, on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, where no efforts are made to buffer streams, nor to prevent erosion by revegetating; and where logging machinery has simply plowed through streams and destroyed waterways and stream banks--according to an award-winning article by Alex Shoumatoff entitled "Tennessee Tree Massacre."

Contents 1 Sources 2 See also 3 External links 4 References

[edit] Sources

• The Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Inc. North America’s Largest Forest Certification Program.
• Not All Wood Is Good: Industry SFI Program Falls Far Short of Independent FSC Certification Program
• The Tennessee Tree Massacre: The paper industry is destroying one of America's last great stands of native forest to bring you fresh shopping bags and toilet paper. By Alex Shoumatoff. OnEarth, Winter 2004. Page 23.

[edit] See also

• Certified wood
• Forest Stewardship Council

[edit] External links

• Pro: Sustainable Forestry Initiative entry at ecolabelling.org
• Anti: Credible Forest Certification
• Debate: http://www.healthybuilding.net/news/060427sfi-fsc.html

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[edit] References