SFI Labels and Claims

The SFI program has developed two different lines of product labels to help consumers identify exactly what they are buying:

• SFI “certified content” labels show that some or all of the product’s wood content comes from forests that are certified to the SFI, Canadian Standards Association (CSA), and/or the American Tree Farm System forest management standards.
• SFI fiber sourcing labels show that the manufacturer meets objectives 8-13 in the SFI 2005-2009 Standard, and/or Annex 1 in the SFI Requirements for Fiber Sourcing, Chain of Custody and Product Labels document.

Organizations that want to use SFI program labels must contact the SFI Office of Label Use and Licensing, which must approve the use of all SFI labels and claims.

On September 25, 2008 SFI Inc. unveiled new labels (below) and all SFI certified participants and certificate holders can start using these immediately. Participants must transition to the new labels by the end of 2009 or until existing stock is depleted. If a company is unable to transition to the new labels by the end of 2009, a letter must be sent to the SFI Office of Label Use and Licensing requesting an extension.

 

SFI Labels for Certified Forest Claims

The SFI program has 2 chain of custody labels, each showing that some or all of the product’s fiber content comes from forests that are certified to the SFI 2005-2009 Standard, CSA CAN/CSA Z809 Standard, or the American Tree Farm System Standard. Chain-of-custody certification to Annex 2 of the SFI Requirements for Fiber Sourcing, Chain of Custody and Product Labels document is required before the labels can be used.

1. CERTIFIED CONTENT LABEL FOR VOLUME CREDIT OR AVERAGE PERCENTAGE CALCULATIONS - Any company that is certified under the SFI Chain of Custody standard and is using either the volume credit or average percentage method can use the new SFI certified content label as shown below. In addition, it is now a requirement that the company communicate the actual percentage of certified content to its customer when using the average percentage method. This can be communicated via label wrap, invoices, bill of lading, shipping documents, or letters. This is not a complete list and other forms of communications may be acceptable. If a company is using a multi-site certification, it may take an average of the entire production batch.

 

2. CERTIFIED CONTENT LABEL FOR AVERAGE PERCENTAGE CALCULATIONS Any company that is certified under the SFI Chain of Custody standard and is using the average percentage method can use the new SFI combination label as shown below.

 

3. RECYLED CONTENT CLAIMS - Either of the chain of custody labels above (#1 and #2) can include a mobius loop stating the percentage of recycled content in the product. An example is provided below.

 

SFI Labels for Certified Fiber Sourcing Claims
A certified fiber sourcing label shows that the manufacturer has been certified to objectives 8-13 in SFI’s 2005-2009 Standard and/or is certified to Annex 1 of SFI Requirements for Fiber Sourcing, Chain of Custody and Product Labels. Fiber sourcing labels do not make claims about certified content.

4. FIBER SOURCING/PROCUREMENT LABEL - Any company that is certified under the procurement requirements of the 2005-2009 SFI Standard or Annex 1 of the Fiber Sourcing Requirements can use the new fiber sourcing/procurement label as shown below.

 

Other Items on the SFI Label – Below is a list of other items that are either mandatory or optional on the SFI label

1. The SFI website is always mandatory.
2. Either the words “Sustainable Forestry Initiative” or “SFI” are mandatory
3. The claim (i.e. “Certified Fiber Sourcing,” “Promoting Sustainable Forest Management” or the x% taglines) is mandatory.
4. When using the chain of custody labels, the additional tagline “Chain of Custody” is mandatory.
5. When the job isn’t 100% certified, the product must clearly communicate what portion of the job the label applies to (i.e this label only applies to the cover stock).
6. When selling the product as SFI COC certified, the SFI COC number must be communicated to the customer at the time of sale. Communication methods include, , but are not limited to, label wrap, invoices, bill of lading, shipping documents, or letters.