Green Printing — Pulp (Non) Fiction: Fighting for Our Forests

With 130 million acres under third-party certification in North America, more fiber is available that meets SFI than FSC, but FSC is gaining, with North American acreage doubling in 2006 to 60 million acres.

Most paper merchants have now adopted FSC. While some have simply responded to pressure with a “me too” offering, others have shown leadership. The two largest national merchants, xpedx and Unisource, are supporting both FSC and SFI. At xpedx, an International Paper company and a leading supplier of paper and graphic supplies in the United States, Jeff Higgins, corporate director of marketing services, notes, “Sustainability is key for xpedx. In December 2006, we became the first merchant with chain-of-custody certification for both SFI and FSC. What’s more, xpedx is facilitating certification for 61 additional printers through its printer program.” Similarly, at Unisource, Ed Farley, senior vice president, paper marketing, says, “Unisource will be fully certified by both FSC and SFI by July, and is in the process of analyzing its product offering and consolidating products into a comprehensive offering of environmentally preferred papers.”