January 14, 2008 -- ALL-STATE LEGAL, the legal community's premier provider of engraved and printed stationery, marketing materials, and legal specialty supplies, based in Cranford, NJ, has earned Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain-of-Custody certification (#SW-COC-002761) from the Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood program. This certification reflects a growing trend in the paper and printing industry toward companies making more environmentally and socially responsible supply chain decisions.

"ASL made the decision to apply for this certification to further demonstrate to our customers and partners that we support responsibly produced forest goods," said Robert Busch, President and CEO of ASL. "We recognize our responsibility to the legal industry, to our communities, and to protecting the global  environment, and this FSC certification is an acknowledgement of our commitment to these causes."

Since 1946, employee-owned ASL has been dedicated to helping law offices of all sizes -- from solo practitioners to major international firms -- manage and grow their businesses. ASL is the leading nationwide provider of stationery, marketing materials, office supplies, and legal specialties.  

Corporate America relies on the legal profession to protect it from business risk, and law firms entrust ASL to manage their brands with stationery and marketing materials. The products and services ASL provides consume well over 4,000,000 pounds of paper every year.  To support law firms in their efforts to "go green," ASL is continuously expanding its product offering to include a variety of environmentally friendly products.

"There is no one solution to help law firms to 'go green,'" said Dan Whitehead, ASL's Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "The process is ongoing and requires flexibility and commitment on various levels.  We are prepared to help guide law firms through the many choices they have to commit to environmental responsibility."

The FSC is the global standard-setter in responsible forest management. Chain-of-Custody certification guarantees that wood comes from certified, responsibly managed forestlands, and is tracked throughout the supply chain from the forest to the consumer. Conscientious consumers can look for the FSC logo on wood products to know they are supporting forest management that protects biodiversity and supports local communities.

About 40 percent of all commercially traded timber globally is used to produce paper, according to the FSC, and paper consumption is expected to grow by about 50 percent in the next few years. The U.S. is the largest market for paper products globally, producing 90 million tons of paper and consuming 100 million tons of paper each year, according to the FSC.

According to the American Bar Association, "Law offices tend to be paper-intensive, and the production and disposal of paper consumes substantial amounts of energy and generates significant quantities of greenhouse gas emissions.  One large Washington, D.C. law firm buys about 100,000 sheets of copying and printing paper per attorney per year, which is almost one page per minute of attorney billable time, and which amounts to a half-ton of paper per year."  The ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Challenge encourages law firms to take steps to conserve energy and resources, including assuring that approximately 90% of all types of copier, printer, letterhead, and bond paper purchased have at least 30% post-consumer recycled content.

FSC certification ensures that forestry operations meet a set of environmental, social and economic criteria covering compliance with laws and international treaties, land-use and indigenous peoples' rights, community relations, biodiversity conservation and maintenance of high conservation value forests, among other things.

The Rainforest Alliance, an international nonprofit conservation organization, is the world's leading certifier of forestlands to the FSC standards. To date, the organization has certified 104 million acres of forestland in 61 countries. The Rainforest Alliance works with businesses to help them make more responsible choices by using market forces to protect our natural resources and support workers and local communities.

The Rainforest Alliance works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. For more information, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org. For media queries, contact [email protected] or 646-452-1939.