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Major US companies join fight against greenwash

Seven large brands separate from phony eco-label of Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)
March 29th, 2011

Rejecting SFI's claim to be 'good for forests', seven companies -- Aetna, Allstate, Garnet Hill, Office Depot, Performance Bicycles, Symantec, and United Stationers -- each took action to stop using SFI's 'eco-label' or SFI-certified paper products (see each company's commitment here).

ForestEthics thanks these companies for living up to their own environmental values -- this is very good for our forests! But it's not always easy for large companies to look past SFI's leafy-green logo and see the truth about its misleading claims.

Business and sustainability media have been quick to weigh in: Fast Company gave companies some sound advice, while Triple Pundit, Environmental Leader, TreeHugger, Marc Gunther, GreenBiz.com, Print Leadership's blog, Procurement Leaders Network's blog & Greenwire (subscription only) also gave their takes. In his Reuters/Greenbiz column, Rob Watson said that SFI "has not earned the mantle of a green standard," while the UK-based Ethical Corporation blog, winner of our coveted "Awesome Headline from a Little Outlet" award, covered the announcement with the title "Forestry: Industry Group in Terminal Decline?"

SFI's business as usual forest destruction is exactly what ForestEthics was founded to stop. That's why we're running our Stop SFI Greenwash campaign. Last Fall, ForestEthics published SFI: Certified Greenwash, a report exposing a number of SFI's false claims. The report describes how SFI, funded and managed primarily by some of the world's largest timber companies, gives a 'green' seal of approval to the environmentally harmful practices of these same companies. The previous year, ForestEthics filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission and Internal Revenue Service alleging that SFI misleads the public through deceptive marketing and operates as a nonprofit charity even though it primarily serves private for profit interests.

Not surprisingly, SFI continues to distort the facts, pushing their "Setting the Record Straight" webpage in a response to our announcement that major companies are moving away from SFI. You can read the truth about it all on our own webpage "Re-straightening the record."

Take Action: Tell SFI to stop selling false information >>

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