Fake Green Certification Backfires [1]
Submitted by Bob Burton [2] on
The Australian supermarket company Woolworths has withdrawn a range of tissue products after being outed by an anonymous blogger [3] for using a "Sustainable Forest Fibre" logo on products sourced from a notorious Indonesian forestry company. In its most recent corporate social responsibility [4] report, Woolworths states [5] that a "key element of our 'Corporate Social Responsibility' (CSR) commitment is transparency." The packaging on Woolworths' "Select" tissues claimed they were sourced "from a certified environmentally managed company that is environmentally, socially and economically responsible." However, environmental groups had never heard of a "Sustainable Forest Fibre" certification scheme. In a statement, NSW Greens member of parliament John Kaye said consumers "should treat such claims as greenwash [6] and spin." Following widespread reporting [7] of Asia Pulp and Paper's track record in logging Indonesian rainforests, Woolworths withdrew the product range.