WASHINGTON - Take a look at the notepad on your desk, your ATM receipt or the package of disposable plates you bought for your Memorial Day barbecue. Many paper products are labeled as being sourced from sustainable forests, and many consumers make buying decisions based on those labels.
But are the labels trustworthy? An environmental group, ForestEthics, plans to file a complaint Wednesday with the Federal Trade Commission that says one of the largest organizations that certify forestry practices misleads consumers about the sources of the products that carry its seal of approval.
The complaint argues that the Sustainable Forestry Initiative's claim that it's an independent, nonprofit public charity is deceptive and misleading because it's "substantially governed and financed by the timber industry."
ForestEthics accuses the Washington, D.C.-based Sustainable Forestry Initiative of violating the FTC's Green Guides for environmental marketing claims, which were revamped in October.
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The complaint claims that the Sustainable Forestry Initiative misleads well-intentioned companies and consumers into thinking they're making environmentally sound choices about wood and paper products, said Todd Paglia, the executive director of ForestEthics, based in Bellingham, Wash. It's a fake eco label, Paglia said.
"We're asking the FTC to apply its Green Guides, which speak clearly to an entity like SFI," Paglia said. "Which would mean they need to disclose in very clear and unmistakable terms that they are funded by the logging industry and that they are not independent. On their website, and on all their materials. And on their label."
Many consumers make purchasing decisions based on such seals, making them a valuable designation for marketers. Advertising Age estimated last year that sales of environmentally friendly products in the United States exceeded $40 billion last year.
ForestEthics has worked to discourage large companies that make major wood and paper purchases from using the Sustainable Forestry Initiative designation or to consider it only at a minimum level in purchasing decisions. Such companies include Office Depot, Southwest Airlines, Cricket Communications and Hewlett-Packard.
Often companies switch to a designation by a separate organization, the Forest Stewardship Council. ForestEthics has pushed both organizations to be more accountable, but it says the Forest Stewardship Council is more independent. The Forest Stewardship Council now certifies all of Hewlett-Packard's HP Everyday paper products in the Americas, the company said last month in announcing the change.
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative didn't respond to a request for comment.
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative needs "to disclose in very clear and unmistakable terms that they are funded by the logging industry and that they are not independent."
Todd Paglia, executive director of ForestEthics environmental group
