SFC Doesn’t Endorse AHFA Sustainable By Design Program

December 2, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on December 2007 The Sustainable Furniture Council announced Friday it won’t endorse the American Home Furnishings Alliance’s Sustainable by Design program as it now stands.

The AHFA, a member of the SFC’s Board and Standards Committee, had hoped the SFC would deem its program worthy of SFC’s Silver Exemplary level of sustainable furniture practices. But at a an AHFA environmental conference last week in Greensboro, N.C., SFC Executive Director Susan Inglis expressed concerns about Sustainable by Design, which includes a labeling program at retail. SFC is developing its own label that offers manufacturers a product tag for use by SFC members complying with “Exemplary” qualifications within its standards.

“I’m concerned about the confusion this is likely to cause ... I don’t frankly think that two labels is the way to do it,” she said. “I’m concerned that consumers have a label they can trust, a label that’s been created with the interest of all stake holders in mind.”

According to a statement released Friday, the SFC applauds the AHFA’s effort to encourage more environment-friendly practices among its membership, but cited four reasons for turning down Sustainable by Design.

The first was what SFC called a “lack of balance,” owing to AHFA’s charge to support the interests of its membership over governmental, environmental, or other concerns. “This is not a criticism, but merely a statement of their fundamental purpose,” the statement read. “The AHFA serves their manufacturer and importer membership virtually exclusively, and thereby risks a less balanced perspective that supports the status quo. As noted, the SFC has an intentionally diverse base of stakeholders inside and outside the industry.”

Second, was what SFC called a lack of transparency, noting that the SFC set of standards published for peer review in October included a consortium of seven leading conservation groups, and that SFC received no prior advance on the AHFA program’s standards, nor is SFC aware of any review by conservation or environmental organizations of Sustainable by Design.

Third, the AHFA program requires products in question to use 3 percent to 5 percent certified woods, while SFC’s Silver Exemplary level requires 15 percent to 25 percent.

Fourth, SFC cited “lack of controls” in the AHFA program, noting that SFC applicants must adhere to a rigorous vetting process, and must provide a statement that application contents are accurate, not misleading and prepared by “qualified professionals consistent with the Federal Trade Commission Environmental Marketing Guidelines. By its very nature, the Sustainable by Design tagging program is open to all who meet its less rigorous standards, few minimum requirements are specified, and the vetting process is unclear, potentially allowing applicants to be their own approvers.”

The SFC looks forward to continuing the dialogue with the AHFA and all other organizations interested in promoting the cause of sustainability in the furniture industry, with the goal of agreement to a consistent platform for standards that is utilized by all, thus enhancing and protecting the economy of the home furnishings industry.

The SFC said it wants to maintain a continuing dialog with the AHFA regarding sustainable practices and their certification.