FAQs: What is FSC- or SFI-Certified Paper? | Conformer Products' Blog
Our paper stocks are FSC and SFI certified.
FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council. This is a non-profit organization that provides a third-party certification service to the paper industry to “promote management of the world’s forests.” It ensures that your paper is coming from sustainably harvested forests, meaning that it comes from a renewable source. According to the FSC website, “plantations must contribute to reduce the pressures on and promote the restoration and conservation of natural forests.” How does it do this? The Forest Stewardship Council has developed a Chain of Custody process — effectively, an inventory management system — that enables you to trace your paper stock back to the tree it was harvested from, thereby ensuring it came from a sustainably managed forest.
If the manufacturer is FSC-certified as an organization, that gives them the right to placed the FSC logo on products it manufactures. Alternatively, if the manufacturer is not FSC-certified but simply sources FSC-certified paper stock, your sustainably harvested paper is still exactly that but cannot have the FSC-certified logo printed on it. Both are viable and “good” options.
SFI stands for Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and it is also an independent auditor of good forestry practices. It is simply an alternative to FSC-certification and is just as good an indicator of sustainably harvested paper stock.