Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)
label guidelines for paper
and envelopes

You can print the SFI labeldirectly onto your project to promote the environmental qualities of the paper. The SFI Chain of Custody must be maintained for you to print the SFI label, the initials "SFI," or the phrase "Sustainable Forestry Initiative." Only when you buy paper and envelopes manufactured by an SFI-certified supplier, buy from an SFI Chain of Custody (CoC) distributor and use an SFI-certified printer may you print the valuable SFI label.

What is SFI?

The SFI program is an internationally endorsed forest certification program and was launched in 1995 in response to market concerns about forest management and illegal logging. Today, SFI has an internationally recognized and science-based standard that sets requirements for how a forest should be managed. In order for forest companies to claim they are SFI-certified, their operations must be audited against that standard by independent, third-party certification bodies.

Forest certification is complemented with chain-of-custody certification, which is a tool used to track wood from a certified forest all the way to the end-user, providing a link between the certified forest and the certified product.

Why use the SFI label?

Specifying SFI-certified paper demonstrates your, or your client's, commitment to the environment and meets the market's increasing demand for products from well-managed forests.

SFI offers a suite of product and promotional labels that allow certified organizations to make claims about the content of the product they sell that comes from certified forests or that is sourced through its rigorous fibersourcing program.

This helps consumers identify and give preference to products from well-managed forests. The SFI label makes sustainable forestry less anonymous. People see it as a visual cue — just like the recycling symbol. In this age of increased corporate social responsibility and consumer awareness, the SFI label provides the market with a valuable tool to buy responsibly.

How to use the SFI label:

To use the SFI label on a printed piece, your substrate must be tracked through the SFI chain of custody. This means the forest, paper producer, paper distributor and printer must all be SFI certified.When you buy SFI-certified paper or envelopes from The Paper Mill Store, you can be assured the chain of custody has been maintained up until, and through, distribution.

Find SFI-certified printers(PDF)

The SFI-certified printer will provide the SFI label artwork,customized with the printer's SFI Certification code and any necessary recycled content percentage. The printer is responsible for getting approval on the label usage. Below are some samples of the labels your printer may use.

SFI labels are available in:

1. Full color (C:94.12%, M:22.74%, Y:80.78, K:8.63%)
2. 2-color (PMS 348 CVC and Black)
3. Black and white
4. Reverse black and white negative

Note: Your SFI-certified printer can provide you with complete SFI labeling guidelines, including size and clear space requirements, guidelines for inserting certification codes and recycled content percentage and infringements to avoid.