Smith & Fong Gets FSC Certification for Bamboo

San Francisco, CA, April 22, 2008--The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has certified its first bamboo architectural plywood and flooring.

The products, manufactured by Smith & Fong Co., known for its Plyboo products, are sourced from sustainable bamboo forest resources and slated to hit the North American market this summer.

Smith & Fong Co.'s range of FSC-certified bamboo products will meet criteria for FSC Pure -- which requires 100-percent FSC material from an FSC-certified forest and insures products are sold and/or processed by an FSC chain-of-custody certified company.

The firm also implements sustainable practices to grow the bamboo: No irrigation, pesticides, or fertilizers are used.

"The independent European FSC-certifier Institut für Marktökologie (IMO) was impressed with our forestry practices and agreed that if we could meet the same FSC standards for a tree forest, it would certify our bamboo source," says Smith & Fong president and founder Dan Smith.

A pioneer in the bamboo market, Smith & Fong was the first U.S. company to manufacture bamboo flooring in China for distribution in North America.