Last Updated on October 17, 2023 by Packoi Team
In this article, you’ll learn more about the products that’ll benefit from having an FSC certificate. You’ll discover the different certificates you can get and the principles you must follow to be FSC-certified.
Why Are FSC-Certified Products Important?
With FSC-certified products, customers know that the company behind them is practicing sustainability. They can trust that the product was created using eco-friendly processes that positively impact the environment.
Why is this important?
You see, anything that’s sourced from the forest is usually consumed by society in massive quantities. If we’re not carefully taking these products from forests, we could soon face deforestation problems.
This is avoidable thanks to the efforts of the Forest Stewardship Council. FSC-certified forests help keep deforestation and ecosystem imbalances from happening.
This organization encourages sustainable forest management. The goal is to let society enjoy forest products without exhausting our natural resources and endangering the ecosystems that depend on them.
What does that mean for you?
If you want to practice sustainability and want your customers to know about your efforts, you should choose to use FSC-certified products.
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What Are the Products That’ll Benefit from an FSC Certification?
Forest products like wood, paper, and rubber can benefit from an FSC certification. Anything that can be sourced from wood or the ecosystems in the forest should be FSC-certified.
Here’s a more detailed look at the most common ones.
1. Wooden Products
FSC-certified wood products include plywood, roughwood, veneers, pallets, sawdust, sawn wood, laminated timber, and charcoal. Any product that uses FSC-controlled wood as a raw material can be certified.
Finished products like home or office furniture, flooring, window frames, doors, countertops, boxes, toys, decor, and cookware—anything that comes from sustainably managed FSC-certified forests—can be given a certification.
2. Paper-Based Products
There’s a wide variety of paper products on the market. But not all of them are FSC-certified materials. If a paper product is graced with the FSC logo, it is sourced from sustainably managed forests.
The FSC-certified materials made of paper include office or printing paper, cardboard, cartons, boxes, towels, toilet paper, notebooks, books, magazines, envelopes, brochures, catalogs, etc. FSC-certified cardboard is a great material for packaging and printing and is both environmentally friendly and recyclable.
3. Textile Products
Not all fabrics come from the forest. But there’s an increasing number of textiles like modal, viscose, rayon, and lyocell that are sourced from forests. These are cellulose-based fabrics that are initially extracted from plants and trees before they’re spun into thread.
If you find yourself in need of forest-sourced textiles, make sure they have the FSC certification. This will ensure that they come from sustainably managed forests. Don’t forget to use the FSC label to inform customers of the company’s compliance with sustainable practices.
4. Rubber Products
Natural rubber comes from trees. The latex is harvested from specific rubber trees, mainly in Asia. If you want to use this as a base material for your product, you must ensure your source practices responsible forest management.
If you can find the right source for rubber, you can have FSC-labeled products. Your customers will know you’re responsible for your products’ raw materials. Whether you use it for shoes, boots, tires, or other products, ensure it shows your efforts to be more sustainable.
This is even more important if you use it for medical products like gloves, tubes, catheters, etc. It’ll help customers trust the quality of your products.
5. Bamboo Products
Bamboo is deemed the fastest-growing plant in the world. So it’s easy to be more sustainable when you use this.
Among the products that can be created from bamboo are toothbrushes, furniture, tableware, disposable plates, and even textiles.
But just like FSC-certified wood, make sure your source of bamboo is also carrying the right certification. This will add to the value of the bamboo products that you’re dealing with.
6. Other FSC-Certified Products
There are other FSC-certified products that you can get from forests. It’s building materials, food, spices, and even medicinal plants. All these will benefit if they carry the FSC certification from the Forest Stewardship Council.
While it’s not mandatory, it can make a product incredibly valuable. It’ll also help attract more eco-friendly customers to patronize your products.
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How to Identify as an FSC-Certified Product?
If you took the time to get an FSC certification, you want to make sure it’s easily identifiable by your customers.
It’s not just about the FSC logo. It’s also about being known as a company that supports sustainable forest management. When your customers see that you’re serious about being sustainable, they’ll learn to respect your brand. That’s an effective way to improve your brand’s reputation.
People will know that if you’re willing to go through the trouble of being certified, your eco-friendly claims are authentic.
1. Show the FSC-Label
The symbol on the package can identify FSC-certified products.
The label is the first thing people will look at when identifying an FSC-certified product. You need to choose the type of FSC labels that fit your product. There are 3 types of labels that you can use.
The first is the FSC 100% label. This means 100% of the materials used are virgin wood fibers from FSC-certified forests.
The second is the FSC recycled label. This means the product has 100% recycled content still sourced from sustainably managed forests.
The third is the FSC mix label. This means the product uses a mix of virgin fibers and recycled content.
All these are still sourced from FSC-controlled wood.
2. If a Product Is Unable to Carry an FSC-Label…
There are times when the design of a product won’t allow it to carry the label that shows its FSC certification.
That’s okay. Even if you can’t put the FSC 100%, the FSC recycled, or the FSC mix, you can see if the FSC logo fits. The small logo can inform customers of the certification attached to the product.
But there’s also another way. You can provide information on your website about the FSC-certified supplier from which you got the product. The Forest Stewardship Council has made the list of FSC-certified companies public record. It can easily be searched online.
3. For Online Products…
If you sell online products, you can inform customers of your certification even if you don’t show them the FSC labels.
There are FSC trademarks that you can use to promote your products. Only those who are duly certified are allowed to use it. So once you’re given access to it, use it to your advantage.
But don’t stop there. If your suppliers are all FSC-certified, you can use that as part of your promotion. Let customers know that you’ve selected the process that your product goes through. Make it known that every single step is eco-friendly and leaves a positive impact on the environment.
How Many Companies Are FSC-Certified?
Based on the data provided by the Forest Stewardship Council on their website, 50,000 companies hold an FSC certification. To be specific, they have the FSC Chain of Customer certification. Later in this article, you’ll learn more about that.
Not only that, 1,000 companies have a promotional license. This means a business doesn’t have to be FSC-certified. As long as they get their products from an FSC-certified supplier or company, they can say they are certified by the FSC.
The list of FSC-certified companies is available online and will only get longer over time. It’s an easy search that’ll ensure anyone can check if companies comply with FSC standards.
After all, it’s pretty simple to say you’re an FSC-certified company. But if your customers want to check that, they can do so. At the same time, this can also help you find suitable suppliers for your product or packaging needs.
Examples of Companies That Are FSC-Certified
A lot of well-known companies have committed to producing FSC-certified products. These include McDonald’s, Kimberly-Clark, Procter & Gamble, and HP. Companies like Williams Sonoma, West Elm, and Pottery Barn have also committed.
Most produce paper products or use timber to create furniture and other gear.
With the growing concern for the effects of deforestation caused by illegal logging and forest fires, it won’t be surprising that more companies will join this bandwagon.
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What Are the 2 Types of FSC Certification?
If you have a product that you want to become FSC-certified, you need to understand what type you should apply for. There are 2 types of FSC certifications. One is the Forest Management Certification, and the other is the Chain of Custody Certification.
You must apply for the proper FSC certification to suit your business and the product you want to promote.
1. Forest Management Certification
This is a type of certification for forest owners or managers. This will help prove they have a system allowing them to implement responsible forest management.
To apply for this, you need to get in touch with a certification body that’s been accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council. These third-party companies can only process FSC certifications.
Once you are deemed eligible, the next person you must contact is a Group Manager so you can receive a Forest Management Group Certificate.
2. Chain of Custody Certification
This certification is for any company that owns or manufactures a product and would like to be given the authority to pass on the FAC-certified claim to their clients. For example, Packoi Printing is an FSC-certified packaging supplier. This means our clients can put the FSC label on the packaging or products they get from us.
This is possible because the Chain of Custody Certificate ensures that every phase or process a product goes through adheres to the standards of the FSC. From sourcing materials in a sustainably managed forest to creating and processing the development and the delivery, it’s all eco-friendly.
What Are the Principles that the FSC Follows?
If you want approval for an FSC certificate, you must meet the FSC requirements. That includes proving that you can adhere to the FSC standards in every process that your company follows and the product that you produce.
Here are the 10 principles the FSC has set to ensure sustainable and responsible forest management.
- Comply with all the relevant laws, regulations, and any ratified international agreements, treaties, and conventions recognized by the national government.
- Maintain or enhance the well-being of your workers, both socially and economically.
- Identify and protect the legal and customary rights of the indigenous people, specifically when it comes to ownership, management, and use of their territories and the resources of their land.
- Uphold and improve the social and economic state of your local communities.
- Manage all products and services efficiently to ensure or heighten the long-term effects of their economic viability and social and environmental benefits.
- Preserve, conserve, and restore the ecosystem and environmental values, and control and minimize any adverse environmental impacts of their actions.
- Provide an updated management plan consistent with relevant policies and objectives and proportionate to the activities’ scale, risk, and intensity.
- Constant monitoring and evaluation of the progress, impact, and condition of all affected in proportion to the scale, intensity, and risk implicated in the actions
- Apply precautions to ensure high conservation of values.
- Manage activities consistent with the approach’s economic, social, and environmental policies and objectives.
Ensure you consistently adhere to these principles to get and maintain your FSC certificate.
Work with an FSC-certified Company. Packoi Printing Is the Right Manufacturer for Your Needs.
If you don’t want to go through the FSC certification but you’d like to have a claim to it, we can help with that.
Packoi Printing is FSC-certified, and we can provide you with packaging and products sourced from sustainably managed forests.
If you want to know more about this, contact us. We can discuss your plans and help you stay sustainable in every way.
