The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) has hit back at environmentalists campaigning against the certification scheme.
The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and a coalition of other green groups started a “Don’t Buy SFI” consumer campaign across the US on November 12. It included a website, in-store surveys and advertisements to “debunk” what it calls misleading claims about SFI-labelled wood and paper products.
An SFI spokesperson responded: “This whole issue is about mutual recognition. The PEFC and SFI are working towards the mutual recognition of credible schemes and environmentalists who seek to undermine that recognition are denying industry their choice.”
The spokesperson said SFI is a scheme which includes many stakeholders, including environmental organisations, with the aim of achieving sustainable forestry. He said the scheme may not be on the exact lines of the Forest Stewardship Council but was based on equal criteria.
RAN says SFI fails to protect old-growth forests and restrict clear cutting, and does not provide chain of custody linking labelled products to certified forests.
