The idea caught on quickly in Europe, where people are more accustomed to green politics and consumerism. Some 25 million acres of forests in Sweden, and 6 million acres in Poland, have been certified under Forest Stewardship Council guidelines. American companies, however, have been slower on the uptake. About 3 million U.S. acres are certified, mostly in Maine, Minnesota and California. The Northwest, home to the nation's richest forests, has been especially resistant.
Timber companies cite state laws that regulate how private forests are harvested.
In some respects, they're tougher than certification. But critics say Washington companies have been too preoccupied with spotted owls and the Endangered Species Act to mess with certification. We're just getting started. The big change came courtesy of Atlanta-based Home Depot. That chain became the target of the Rainforest Action Network and other groups that staged hundreds of demonstrations outside Home Depot stores, hanging banners and handing leaflets to customers to focus attention on the issue of lumber from old-growth trees.