of SFI's marketing, including its claim that it is an “independent” not-for-profit organization, its dependence on the timber industry for funding, and the vagueness of SFI's environmental standards, which allow SFI-certified landowners to be certified merely because the landowner is complying with state environmental regulations. The 2009 complaint cited SFI's certification as an example of greenwash. Both the FTC and IRS investigated the complaints made against SFI and found them without merit. No action was taken by either investigative body. Conflict of interest The complaint filed with the IRS requested an examination of SFI Inc.’s non-profit status, based on the argument that SFI benefits the private interests of its corporate landowners and not the public interest, as well as the fact that SFI draws funding from the wood and paper industry. The complaint asserts that in serving the private interests of wood and paper companies that want a "green" image, SFI is inappropriately granted a nonprofit status reserved for public charities. The IRS investigated the complaint as well as conducted a thorough examination of SFI's non-profit status and concluded that it was appropriate and that no further action was required. Sierra Club complaint The Sierra Club lodged a formal complaint with SFI, alleging that Weyerhaeuser engaged in risky and irresponsible logging on steep slopes that led to 1,259 landslides in 2007 on SFI-certified Weyerhaeuser lands in Washington state. Challenging SFI to back up its claims of "independence" and "rigorous audits," the Sierra Club requested that Weyerhaeuser's SFI certification be revoked. A peer reviewed landslide study concluded that the Washington State landslides that the Sierra Club attributed to Weyerhaeuser's logging practices were the result of extreme weather conditions such as heavy rainfall and not the result of steep slope logging by the company. Landslides occur on both logged and unlogged sites, but science shows that logging (and logging roads) dramatically increase the risk of landslides. See also Certified wood Sustainable forest management References External links Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Inc. Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Central Point of Expertise on Timber 2008 Forest Certification Assessment Conservation Fund President and CEO Larry Selzer, on forest certification International forestry organizations Sustainability organizations Pulp and paper industry Environmental issues with forests Sustainable building Forest certification