FSC US President Search Update

A new survey conducted by global packaging leader Smurfit Kappa has revealed that consumers are making a statement by demanding more sustainable packaging from brands before making online fashion purchases. The survey, which was conducted with consumers across four European countries, found 41% of online fashion shoppers have become more eco-conscious when buying the latest fashion online since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The research, which surveyed consumers in Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands and the UK, found nearly half of consumers purchase fashion items online once a month or more, reflecting its increasing popularity among both female (44%) and male (43%) shoppers. The research found: >23% of fashion consumers have researched a brand online to assess its level of sustainability >35% of fashion consumers stated they would not make an online purchase from a fashion company if they discovered its packaging wasn't eco-friendly >23% of those surveyed have re-purchased from a fashion brand based on its sustainability credentials

This spring, UPM will begin a transplantation project of rare and threatened wood-inhabiting fungi in co-operation with Natural Resources Institute Finland and the University of Helsinki. The aim of the project is to accelerate the reintroduction of species inhabiting deadwood to forests by planting these fungi to deadwood concentrations in the company forests. The project advances UPM's target to improve the biodiversity of the company forests in Finland. Increasing deadwood is a key method for achieving this target. "This is a completely new and a globally unique way to protect biodiversity", says Timo Lehesvirta, Sustainable Forestry Lead at UPM. Volume of decaying wood is the biggest difference affecting to forest species between sites reserved for wood production and natural forests. A quarter, i.e. approximately 5000, of forest species in Finland live on deadwood. Most of them are fungi and insect species. "The mycelia of fungi are grown in petri dishes. The mycelia are transplanted onto wooden pegs planted during the growing season to naturally developed deadwood and to deadwood made for the project", says Timo Lehesvirta. Click read more below for additional detail.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI) launched the process to revise and update the SFI standard requirements at the SFI Annual Conference today. A conference workshop marked the official start of the revision process with over 200 members of the SFI community taking part. “The SFI Standards are developed through an open and inclusive process involving the many different people and groups who know and care about our forests including forest sector representatives, conservation groups, academics, researchers, brand owners, resource professionals, landowners, educators, local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and governments,” said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI Inc. The process includes 10 public standards development workshops across the U.S. and Canada including a dedicated workshop for Indigenous Peoples and a facilitated webinar workshop to accommodate those stakeholders that cannot make any of the regional workshops.