SFI Labeling Requirements and Chain of Custody
Sustainable Forestry Initiative® Program (SFI) Labeling Requirements
Requirements for fiber sourcing, chain of custody and product labels (PDF- 548kb)
Interpretations and FAQs (PDF-84kb)
The SFI® program has two on-product label types. Both are described below.
1. Percent Certified Content Labels (Chain of Custody)
The SFI program has four distinct percent certified content labels and also provides an additional claim regarding recovered fiber content. Certification to the SFI Chain of Custody Standard is required for SFI program participants to use any of the percent content labels.
100% Certified Content Label
In order to qualify for the 100% content label, a manufacturing facility must accurately demonstrate that 100% of the raw material used in the product carrying the label comes directly from a forest independently certified to either the SFI Standard (SFIS) or the Canadian Standards Association’s (CSA) CAN/CSA-Z809 Standard. The only way to qualify for this label is by using the physical separation method described in the chain of custody requirements.
X% Certified Content Label
In order to qualify for the X% content label, a manufacturing facility must accurately demonstrate that a specified percentage of raw material in its product or production line carrying the label comes directly from a forest independently certified to either the SFI or CSA Standards. Non-certified material cannot originate from a “controversial source” as defined in Annex 2 of the Requirements for Fiber Sourcing, Chain of Custody, and Product Labels. The only way to qualify for this label is by using the percentage based method described in the chain of custody requirements.
Volume Credit Label
In order to qualify for the volume credit label, a manufacturing facility must accurately demonstrate the percentage of raw material in its product or production line comes directly from a forest independently certified to either the SFI or CSA Standards. The volume credit method requires that the portion of products that carry the label will be proportionate to the percentage of certified content and will be considered as including 100% of certified raw material Non-certified material cannot originate from a “controversial source” as defined in Annex 2 of the Requirements for Fiber Sourcing, Chain of Custody, and Product Labels. The only way to qualify for this label is by using the volume credit method described in the chain of custody requirements.
100% Recovered Fiber Label
In order to qualify for the 100% recovered fiber label, a manufacturing facility must accurately demonstrate that 100% of the raw material used in the product carrying the label comes from recovered wood fiber. The only way to qualify for this label is by using the physical separation method described in the chain of custody requirements
X Percent Recovered Fiber Claim
In order to qualify for the X% recovered fiber claim, a manufacturing facility must accurately demonstrate that a specific percentage of the raw material used in the product or production line carrying the tagline is recovered wood fiber. You can qualify for this claim using any of the existing chain of custody methods. This is not a stand-alone label. Rather, the manufacturing facility must first qualify for one of the (non-100% certified content) labels and then add the following claim: “The product line also includes X% recovered fiber.”2. Fiber Sourcing Labels
The SFI Standard requires participants to employ an auditable system to characterize the forest practices on the lands where they procure raw material. This is done by auditing the on-the-ground practices for a portion of the wood that is supplied to their processing facilities. The program emphasizes reforestation, the utilization of best management practices and enhancing the professional capacity of wood production operations. The SFI labeling program also recognizes landowners certified under the American Tree Farm System® and Canadian Standards Association (CSA) programs, who supply raw materials to SFI program participants as a source equivalent to forests certified under the SFI program for fiber sourcing labels. In addition to the procurement system, the SFI Standard requires participants to support various training and education programs, all of which is designed to assist landowners in improving their capacity to practice sustainable forestry on all types of forest lands.
SFI program participants who successfully achieve certification to the SFI Standard, and manufacturers who purchase at least two-thirds of their materials for a product or product line from certified SFI program participants (referred to as “secondary” manufacturers), may qualify to use a fiber sourcing label shown below by achieving certification to Annex 1 of the Requirements for Fiber Sourcing, Chain of Custody, and Product Labels. (Note: The “Certified Participant” label is only available to primary manufactures, whereas the “Certified Souring” label is available only to secondary manufactures)
(The above fiber sourcing labels do not make claims about certified content)