Certified wood looks and functions the same as non-certified wood; the only difference is in how and where it was harvested and a sticker or stamp attesting that it's certified. Worldwide there are several certification processes with a wide range of standards being implemented. In the United States, just a couple are widely acknowledged.
Rediscovered Wood
Sustainable Forestry The SmartWood Rediscovered Wood Program was developed to recognize and promote responsible practices of wood recovery. These efforts help combat rising costs in timber prices, diminish landfill space and pressures of deforestation and forest degradation.
SylvaSafe Mulch comes from by-products of the wood industry or waste wood that is destined for landfills. Professional companies that utilize wood from managed forests are Sylva’s primary producers.
100% Rediscovered Wood
• No harmful additives or diseased wood.
• Wood recovered from manufacturing processes,
not deforestation due to urban sprawl.
• Using rediscovered wood sources has minimal environmental implications.
Sustainable Forestry
Sustainable forestry consists of management practices that ensure the health and growth of our forests for future generations.
As our population expands and our economy grows, responsible people are concerned about our forests. They want assurances that our forests will always be there.
The U.S. forest and paper industry shares this concern. Companies that rely on healthy and productive forestland for their livelihood have a keen self-interest in making certain that forests remain healthy and productive. The relationship between a healthy, productive forest and the forest and paper industry is elementary: no forest, no industry.
The U.S. forest and paper industry has answered these concerns with a bold new commitment to long-term forestry. It's called the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), a comprehensive program of forestry and conservation practices designed to ensure that future generations of Americans will have the same abundant forests that we enjoy today. It's the largest sustainable forestry and certification program in the world, encompassing nearly 94 million acres of forestland throughout North America and over four million acres in Florida.
The SFI was developed in 1995 by the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), a national trade group that represents forest and paper companies. AF&PA assembled a task force of experienced professional foresters who spent 18 months crafting the SFI.
This careful collaboration produced an ambitious set of forest principles and detailed guidelines that require companies to reforest harvested land promptly, provide for wildlife habitat, improve water quality and ecosystem diversity, and protect forestland of special ecological significance. (“Certified wood gains recognition” Jim Buchta, Star Tribune August 5, 2000)
