Well, I was expecting a few comments to the EFPA interview posted last week, but not quite the vociferous response we received. Thanks to everyone in the Going Green community who commented; this site is designed to be an exchange of information and perspective, and I’m happy to see such intense and passionate participation. I have found over years that “green” means different things to different people, and hopefully our interaction on this site can help us all get on the same page and move us forward. Ask and ye shall receive: I hoisted some follow-up questions from comments and had Mr. Grape  respond (I edited some of the responses for brevity). By the way, it is not my goal here to advocate for or against any particular group or approach; I am simply providing the information in an unbiased way and opening up the topic to discussion—which has certainly been the case! To that end, another perspective can be found here. Is EFPA a for-profit endeavor? JG: EFPA is not a Not for Profit Organization (NPO). Proceeds from EFPA will be directed towards the operational expense and marketing of the association. Is is possible to fact check and correct the information in this article about costs of FSC certification for printers? JG: FSC prices are all over the board and are not often published. Their fees are based off company size and have reduced a bit recently as membership rates declined. FSC serves a great purpose to the industry of forestry management. It’s hard to justify what costs really add up to after all is said and done. With most certification bodies, the initial fees in joining are not as steep as the costs of audits and soft dollar expenses to keep the program information in order, such as staff and program management The best we can do is provide some information published on www.printplanet.com as a source for fact checking. Here you can read blogs written by FSC members (see link below).  From speaking with other printers and bindery companies, it has been said that membership costs have been in the $10,000 to $20,000 range. [JG links to a PrintPlanet discussion. –Ed.] Why did you choose to create your own rather than partner with Sustainable Green Printing Partnership? We evaluated each certification organization and found that each program had good things to offer. However, we felt that something was missing, and if we could combine all the best options we could offer a more complete program. It was within this vision that EFPA was created. Of course, we are not claiming to be the complete solution. While we do not require everything that other certification bodies require for membership certification, we do have other benefits just as valuable. We promote and encourage our certified printers to keep improving upon their green initiative. efpa does not require lengthy application programs or certification processes, we offer a statement of environmental impact that meets FTC’s newest regulations, we provide an affordable and user friendly data system, we help printers market their certification program through our marketing agenda and by sending business to them through online quoting services. We can also offer member-only discounts that can help save printers money. These things help differentiate the efpa program from all other certification programs. Do others find it somewhat cynical and manipulative to say “And we found that 10% [post-consumer waste] still showed a recycled content in the fiber to get the customer to say, “That’s recycled content.” JG: The goal of EFPA is not to manipulate people into thinking that our certification guarantees 100% post consumer waste content (PCW). Our minimum standard is 10% PCW, which is more affordable to print buyers. People purchasing print in these difficult economic times are more likely to buy on price than on environmental features and benefits.... EFPA’s minimum standards do not keep print buyers from getting higher recycled content in their paper, nor does it keep them from using printers who not only meet, but exceed EFPA standards. At some point the consumer needs to know that both price and the environmental features of print can work together. EFPA is not the only option. We are not claiming to be the best option for everyone. Our goal is to provide an additional option for printers and print buyers that is both affordable and beneficial. As our association grows so will our programs and environmental impact. As our board of advisors is being developed we look forward to positive growth and changes and gaining valuable information and feedback from not only members but from other interested parties, as well.