CHICAGO— One of the most frequent unsupported claims about  cardboard and other paper-based packaging is that its use causes deforestation and destroys forests, but the data tell a different story. Every five years, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) publishes its global Forest Resources Assessment which reports the state of the world’s forests. The 2020 FRO reports that net forest area in the United States grew by approximately 18 million acres between 1990 and 2020.   In Canada, net forest area remained stable at around 857 million acres during the same period. This is due in great part to sustainable forest management practices implemented by the North American paper and forest products industry, the highest percentage of certified forests (52%) in the world, and laws and regulations aimed at protecting forest resources across the United States and Canada.