Look for FSC and SFI Labels

Whether you're shopping for furniture, building materials or paper goods, look for FSC- and SFI-certified products. What do those acronyms mean?

FSC stands for the Forest Stewardship Council, which sets standards for third-party certification of private forests worldwide. If you see the FSC seal, you can be confident the product was produced from wood derived from a forest with a strong sustainable forestry plan meant to maintain wildlife habitat and forest viability for years to come.

SFI stands for Sustainable Forestry Initiative, which is comparable, but focuses on wood from North American forests.

A wide-range of products carry these labels, so look for them on:
> Paper products like SFI-certified HP office paper ($5 for 500 sheets at zumaoffice.com);
> Furniture like Enrico Konig's "Swiss Cream" coffee table ($2,700 at artfulhome.com); and,
> Building supplies like FSC-certified Certi-Sand plywood ($23 at homedepot.com).

Also look for wood alternatives, like bamboo, which can be sustainably harvested at a faster rate than hardwood forests.