There’s a lot of angst in the marketplace these days about greenwashing – for good reason. Everyone wants to be green, whether it is justified or not.

The SFI program welcomes government and consumer programs that expose misleading labels and claims, because we believe there has to be mechanisms to help consumers differentiate solid programs with third-party certification audits from whimsical claims lacking integrity and substance.

A recent Green Living Online article, Will New Green Guidelines Help Consumers?, referenced two watchdog groups – the Competition Bureau of Canada and TerraChoice Environmental Marketing – that both accept SFI certification as a credible program.

In an environmental labeling standard issued a year ago, Environmental Claims: A Guide for Industry and Advertisers, the Competition Bureau says sustainability is hard to verify so the best thing to do is identify forest products as having come from a forest certified to a standard such as SFI, the Canadian Standards Association, the Forest Stewardship Council or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes.

And just this year, in its Seven Sins of Greenwashing report, TerraChoice says SFI labels meet its criteria as an eco-label that can be trusted because we are third party certified, have a publicly available standard and a transparent standard development process.

The Green Living Online article asked if the Competition Bureau’s advertising guidelines mean consumers can be more confident they are getting a straight bill of goods. It quotes TerraChoice President Scott McDougall as saying yes, as long as the guidelines are enforced.

Scott knows what he is talking about. In research for its latest report, TerraChoice found that 98 percent of more than 2,000 product claims misled consumers in some way.

I absolutely agree with him. We need rules, and they have to be enforced. The value of credible brands is diminished by false claims that cannot be trusted.

For example, there are claims in the marketplace that pretend recycled paper is “tree free”. This is not just confusing for consumers it is misleading because recycled paper still has a significant portion of fiber derived from trees. These claims should stick with the facts. If the paper contains recycled content, say that – don’t pretend it is something it is not. Misleading claims like these undermine credible claims of recycled content and cast a cloak of uncertainty over other claims and programs that are credible and helpful to consumers.

One of the things I absolutely love about the SFI program is our work with communities – it’s a natural extension to any forest management activities. Our partnerships with local Habitat for Humanity affiliates capture this spirit perfectly.

At last count, the SFI program and its SFI Implementation Committees have been or are involved in Habitat projects in Minnesota, Maine, Tennessee, Manitoba and Ontario. Program participants have volunteered hundreds of hours of their time, and companies have donated thousands of dollars worth of products.

There are so many pluses it is hard to know where to start. Through Habitat, we are helping put low-income working families into their own homes. I was given a chance to wield a hammer at a Build Day in Hibbing, Minnesota, last summer, and saw for myself how much it meant for the new homeowner to build her own home with the help of her community.

The Manitoba and Ontario projects are special because both involve Aboriginal organizations – Habitat for Humanity Winnipeg has partnered with the Manitoba Métis Federation and Habitat for Humanity Northumberland is working with Alderville First Nation in southern Ontario to build the first Habitat for Humanity home in a First Nation community in Canada.

This is a great way to provide safe, healthy housing for First Nations people. Chief James Marsden of Alderville First Nation put it perfectly when he said: “We are very pleased to establish partnerships like these with businesses and the community because it allows us to create an affordable home for an Alderville First Nation family. Partnering with SFI also allows us to reinforce our respect for land and forests.”

Habitat for Humanity is a fantastic organization, and I am proud we can support them. Their guiding principles – simple, decent, affordable – say a lot about what they represent. And our involvement is a great fit because Habitat is increasing its emphasis on sustainability, and our donated forest products are from responsible sources.

I want to thank all the SFI companies and individuals who have pitched in to promote Habitat partnerships, and encourage you to check out the Habitat for Humanity website to see if there are opportunities to help out in your area.

I recently had a conversation with Jeff Bi, Managing Director of Tralin Packaging (aka Tralin Pak) about the about the packaging marketplace and perceptions of certification overseas. Tralin Pak is based in China and is the third largest supplier of aseptic paper-based packaging in the world. He was surprisingly candid, and said that he had originally thought of certification as a cost his business would have to absorb. But it was his customers and their desire to be green that convinced him otherwise. He says he now sees certification as an investment. Not just in his business, but in the social and environmental well-being of the communities his company serves, as well as his country and the planet. To see the full conversation, watch the video below. And please let me know your thoughts on the matter. Certification: cost or investment?