WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Reps. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA) and Kurt Schrader (D-OR) have introduced the Forest Products Fairness Act of 2013, which would modify the definition of “biobased” materials to specifically include all forest products regardless of “newness” or “market maturity” in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) BioPreferred Program’s voluntary labeling and government procurement initiatives.
“We applaud Sens. Pryor and Blunt and Reps. Thompson and Schrader for their leadership on this important issue so that paper, wood, and pulp products qualify as ‘biobased’ materials in the USDA’s BioPreferred Program,” said American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman. “The department has arbitrarily excluded some of the most biobased products on the market from participation in its labeling and federal procurement initiatives, and this bi-partisan legislation would allow our products to be recognized for their inherent biobased qualities.”
The program was originally enacted as part of the 2002 Farm Bill to help consumers identify and use biobased products. Products with as little as 25 percent biobased content are recognized under the program’s current implementation guidelines, while many paper and wood products that have up to 100 percent biobased content are not.
The bills clarify that USDA should recognize forest products as biobased and will ensure a competitive marketplace for all products with biobased content, including “pulp, paper, paperboard, pellets, and wood products” and “any recycled products derived from forest materials.”
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The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) serves to advance a sustainable U.S. pulp, paper, packaging, and wood products manufacturing industry through fact-based public policy and marketplace advocacy. AF&PA member companies make products essential for everyday life from renewable and recyclable resources and are committed to continuous improvement through the industry’s sustainability initiative - Better Practices, Better Planet 2020. The forest products industry accounts for approximately 4.5 percent of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP, manufactures approximately $190 billion in products annually, and employs nearly 900,000 men and women. The industry meets a payroll of approximately $50 billion annually and is among the top 10 manufacturing sector employers in 47 states. Visit AF&PA online at www.afandpa.org or follow us on Twitter @ForestandPaper.