The urgency to address plastic pollution has reached a critical point, and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) provides a compelling, forest-friendly solution to enable businesses and consumers to combat this environmental crisis. Forest-based materials have the potential to significantly contribute to global efforts in reducing plastic pollution as a renewable, recyclable, and biodegradable source of materials. However, it is imperative to regulate the use of forest products to ensure that these materials don’t come from deforestation or illegal logging. By choosing FSC-certified products, businesses and consumers actively support a system that protects forest-dependent wildlife, communities, and workers but seeks to ensure their long-term well-being.
Packaging plays a significant role in the plastic pollution crisis, accounting for 49.8% of all reported waste, according to Clean Up Australia's 2021 Rubbish Report. FSC ANZ takes pride in observing the commendable progress made by our promotional licence holders in substituting plastics with responsibly sourced, FSC-certified alternatives. Significant progress can be seen in the actions of Woolworths and Coles, as they have taken proactive steps to eliminate soft-plastic shopping bags. In alignment with their commitment to halt the sale of soft-plastic shopping bags nationwide from June, these retailers will offer FSC-certified paper bags as a forest-friendly alternative for shoppers. Mars Wrigley has also made notable strides by transitioning the packaging of iconic Mars, Milky Way, and Snickers bars to FSC-certified paper-based packaging. FSC certificate holder BioPak is also demonstrating incredible forest stewardship in the packaging space offering innovative FSC-certified alternatives to single-use plastic food and beverage packaging. Their leadership in this space has been recognised on the global stage winning gold for their FSC Rectangular Paper Containers at the WorldStar Packaging Awards early this year. By supporting and offering alternatives sourced from responsibly managed forests, our certificate holders and promotional licence holders play a vital role in promoting sustainable practices and reducing the impact of plastic on the environment.
While addressing the plastic waste crisis, it is imperative that we find solutions that do not inadvertently harm other pressing environmental concerns such as climate change and deforestation. Our approach to tackling plastic pollution must consider these interconnected issues and strive for comprehensive and sustainable solutions that address multiple challenges simultaneously. By supporting organisations that are FSC-certified and opting for products bearing the FSC label, you can be confident that the forest fibre materials used in those products come from responsibly managed forests. This signifies that the forests from which these materials originate have been managed in accordance with rigorous environmental and social standards, safeguarding the rights of workers, communities, Indigenous peoples, and wildlife. Our globally recognised "check tree" label can be found on millions of products, serving as verification of sustainable sourcing from forest to store shelves.