Paper Policy

Defining Paper and Fiber Chain of Custody

Chain of Custody: The linked set of companies or entities that have held legal ownership, or physical control of a given paper product between the point of harvest and point of purchase by REI.

Known, but not certified: The chain of custody will be deemed "known" if each supplier from fiber source to REI is under contractual obligation and is able to disclose proof of their source including purchase agreements, inventory records, etc., sufficient to demonstrate that the product purchased by REI can be followed through each step of the supply chain back to the source. In addition, this chain of documentation is subject to audit by REI or its designated auditor. A certificate of conformance should accompany each delivery of material from the supplier attesting to the source. Chain of custody certification under certification programs such as those recognized by Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes will be sufficient to meet this requirement.

Certified: The chain of custody will be deemed "certified" if each party in the supply chain has received certification by FSC or a system deemed equivalent.

Definitions:

Undesirable: Paper and wood fiber that is the product of illegal logging or is obtained from controversial sources in areas that: contribute to human rights violations, drive armed conflict from timber operations, actively convert natural forests to plantations or non-forest uses, or use timber from genetically modified trees or sourced from high conservation value forests (HCVF), unless the source is certified under a credible certification program such as FSC.

Acceptable: Acceptable sources of fiber are those that are not undesirable sources, although they have not been formally certified.

Certified: Sources that have received certification by FSC are automatically considered to come from acceptable sources.

REI Paper Policy:

September 21, 2006

Preamble
The REI co-op is committed to stewardship as a core value of our business. Part of stewardship is the responsible use of resources and an interest in using our purchasing leverage to help motivate sound practices within our supply chain. We are committed to responsible use of forest resources and the mitigation of negative environmental impacts from the harvest and processing of paper products that we purchase. REI fully supports responsible forest management practices that promote forest sustainability, biodiversity and long-term shared environmental, social and economic benefits.

REI will achieve the goals of this policy through a step-wise, continuous improvement approach to responsible purchasing of paper products. This offers a pragmatic and workable mechanism while valuing our long term relationships with supply chain partners.

REI will measure performance against established goals and timelines and will report progress to our board of directors, co-op members and the public.

REI has established the following policy commitments:

1. Responsible/ Efficient Use of Forest Products
   Wood and paper are renewable natural resources that, when sourced under a responsible program, can represent a sustainable material choice. We will create and maintain purchase specifications for the responsible sourcing of each category of paper products, and we will always strive to use paper products responsibly. Recycled content and alternative fiber sources will be evaluated on a total life cycle assessment basis and will be our preferred source whenever business criteria, product performance and other category specific metrics, as well as environmental and social impact trade-offs, are favorable.
2. Known Origins (Chain of Custody)
   REI will strive to know with reasonable, verifiable certainty the source of our paper including the source of all virgin wood fiber we purchase. This will be accomplished through contractual supply chain agreements, audits and supplier oversight. The most desirable assurance is a credible, third party certified chain of custody such as that provided by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification.
3. Sources of Fiber
   REI will strive to assure that all paper and wood fiber is legally harvested and traded and is not obtained from controversial sources such as harvesting and processing in areas that violate human rights, areas where the timber trade is driving armed conflict, areas that are being actively converted from natural forests to plantations or non-forest uses or which use timber from genetically modified trees. We will also strive to eliminate wood or fiber harvested in ways that promote environmental degradation, and we will not knowingly source from High Conservation Value Forests (HCVF) unless such forests are certified under a credible certification program such as FSC.
4. Environmental/Social performance of supply chain partners
   REI is committed to sourcing from supply partners, sub-tier suppliers and mills who uphold a high level of environmental and social performance. Compliance with applicable regulations is a minimum; however, we will give preference to suppliers who can demonstrate a commitment to minimum impact operations and have a track record of continuous improvement through a formal Environmental Management System. Tools such as the Environmental Performance Assessment Tool (EPAT) will facilitate our ability to measure and compare supplier performance.
5. Commitment to recycling at REI—"Closing the loop"
   REI is committed to the principal of "closing the loop" for paper and paper products. We will strive to assure that paper and wood products used in our operations are recycled or reused.
6. 6. Reporting/Evaluation
   REI will publish an annual report of our Key Performance Indicators showing our progress toward meeting the goals of this policy and will annually evaluate the policy, goals and acceptable certification/ validation systems.