You can find the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) label on hundreds of everyday products, from milk and paper cups and plates to cosmetics and school and building supplies. The label means that the wood fiber used to make the packaging was legally sourced from responsibly managed forests, meets rigorous requirements of the SFI Standards and has undergone an independent third-party audit. By showing a preference for SFI, you are helping maintain working forests, and all the benefits they provide.

Be proud to specify SFI

When you see the SFI label on a product, you also know that it contributes to the health and future of forests. Responsibly managed forests do the job of giving us what we need now without compromising our future needs. Beyond the products we use that improve our quality of life, responsibly managed forests are renewable resources that provide us with fresh water, clean air and recreational opportunities. Many studies have even connected spending time in forests to improved mental health.

How SFI connects forests and communities

SFI works across all the major forested landscapes in the United States and Canada. It works locally through 34 local SFI Implementation Committees. These groups are positioned to help advance local initiatives that connect people and forests. SFI’s community building work includes supporting Boy Scouts of America, Girl Guides of Canada, Habitat for Humanity and Project Learning Tree’s educational initiatives.

SFI Implementation Committees and program participants are also actively involved in training harvesting professionals. Since 1995, almost 100,000 loggers have received training to understand water quality, biodiversity and other sustainable forest practice requirements. SFI Standards require using trained harvesting professionals.

How the label connects you to forests

Today, more than 280 billion acres (113 million hectares) of forestland across the U.S. and Canada are certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard and even more forests are positively influenced by the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard. SFI has multiple labels that signal which products meet the rigorous requirements of the SFI Standards. In 2015, more than 7,000 SFI label requests were approved for everyday grocery items, building supplies and even furniture. SFI on-product labels are recognized globally and provide a visual cue to help customers source products from responsibly managed forests.

Making your choices clear to consumers

Business leaders know that their choice of wood, paper and packaging products has a direct impact on the environment. That’s why so many companies include forest certification in their environmental statements and policies. You personally help drive that demand every time you specify packaging with the SFI label.

Increasingly producers want to align everyday actions with environmental sustainability. They want to make product choices based on responsible sourcing, because they know the future of forests will directly impact our shared future.