| The public has become increasingly interested in making responsible choices when purchasing wood products. Consumers need a way to identify wood and wood products derived from well-managed forests. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) works to recognize acceptable sources of wood products worldwide. The FSC, founded in 1993, developed a set of principles and criteria that would promote forest conservation and reduce deforestation. Forests managed according to these principles and criteria could be “certified” by independent organizations, and wood sold from these certifies forests could carry the FSC certification label. |
| Who is the FSC? The Forest Stewardship Council is an international non-profit organization whose membership includes representatives from environmental and social groups, the timber trade and the forestry profession, indigenous people’s organizations, community forestry groups and forest product certification organization from around the world. The FSC enjoys the support of major environmental groups including the World Wildlife Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council and National Wildlife Federation. |
| What does the FSC do? The FSC has established an international labeling scheme for forest products, which provides a credible guarantee that the product comes from a well-managed forest. All products carrying the FSC label have been independently certified as coming from forests that meet the recognized FSC Principles and Criteria of Forest Stewardship. The forest inspections are carried out on a regular basis by a number of FSC-accredited certification bodies, which are evaluated and monitored to ensure their competence and credibility. |
| How does paper get certified? In order for pulp to be certified to carry the FSC label, the timber used has to be tracked from the forest through all the steps of its processing of “Chain of Custody” (CoC) until it reaches the market. In order to identify products with the FSC label, all processes in the CoC must be independently verified and have CoC certification. The introduction of FSC pulp into paper products is also subject to independent verification and CoC certification. Only then is the end paper product eligible to carry the FSC label. |
