After
ForestEthics fired a salvo across
SFI's foredeck last month, the
Coalition for Fair Forest Certification (no website available) responded with a complaint against the
FSC and the
US Green Building Council filed with the
Federal Trade Commission last week.
In the
New York Times' Feud Continues Between Wood Certifiers, author Leora Broydo Vestel gives us the details:
The Coalition for Fair Forest Certification filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission last week charging that the Forest Stewardship Council – the premier certifier of green forestry products in the United States – engages in unfair and deceptive trade practices.
The group also asserted that the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system for efficient and sustainable buildings — known widely as L.E.E.D. — is anticompetitive because it only recognizes products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and not those of other certifying bodies. (Read the rest of the article.)
In September,
ForestEthics and SFI Traded Statements and according to
Mr. D. Eadward Tree, author of
Dead Tree Edition, that was the declaration of war.
ForestEthics filed complaints of tax fraud and greenwashing against
SFI. It sent letters asking the
IRS to revoke SFI’s tax-exempt status and requested that the
FTC investigate SFI’s “unfair and deceptive” marketing practices.
Read the details from ForestEthics’ complaints and SFI’s response here on the Dead Tree Edition.
We'll be keeping an eye on the developments and keeping you posted!
