Wood is a renewable resource - so when forests are responsibly managed with consideration for the environment, the wildlife, and the people who live and work in them, harvesting timber can actually be an effective way of safeguarding forests for future generations.
Choosing products sourced from responsibly managed forests and/or verified reclaimed sources, allows businesses and consumers to support the world’s forests.
What is the Forest Stewardship Council?
FSC helps take care of forests and the people and wildlife who call them home. The FSC system can help you to specify and procure timber, paper and other forest products, such as cork and latex, from well-managed forests and/or verified recycled sources.
Look out for FSC certified paper, timber and other forest products. FSC enables you to buy forest products of all kinds with the confidence that you are not contributing to global forest destruction.
Why is there an FSC Recycled label?
The FSC Recycled label was introduced in order to recognise the important role that recycling paper and timber plays in protecting the world’s forests. Unlike general ‘recycled’ claims, which require no verification, the FSC Recycled label provides assurance that all the wood or paper in a product has been verified as genuinely recycled. Reclaimed materials can also be used in products carrying the FSC Mix label, however, only products containing 100% recycled material can carry the FSC Recycled label.
What does the FSC Recycled label mean? Is it originally from an FSC forest?
Wood products carrying the FSC Recycled label have been verified by a third party certification body as being made from at least 70% post-consumer reclaimed materials, i.e. wood and or wood fibre that has been reclaimed from a product after that product has been used for its intended purpose by individuals or businesses. The remaining material must be verified as pre-consumer waste. Paper products can contain any balance of pre-consumer and post-consumer reclaimed material as long as all applicable parts of the product are verified as reclaimed. The FSC Recycled label is not, however, a guarantee that the wood originally comes from an FSC certified forest.
Is it better to choose recycled or virgin products?
Recycling paper and wood products not only makes the best use of the yield of the tree (by extending the life span of its fibres), it also reduces the amount of waste going to landfill sites. The use of FSC Recycled paper and timber can help to alleviate the pressure of demand on sources of virgin material, thereby helping to protect the world’s forests.
There will always be a need for virgin timber and pulp, as demand for timber products remains high and the life span of recycled fibres for use in paper manufacture is limited.
By giving the forest economic value, FSC certification can help to ensure its future and, through responsible management, the wildlife and people who depend on the forest can thrive. Using FSC certified pulp and timber helps to ensure that the use of virgin material does not damage the world’s forests. FSC recognises the role both FSC virgin and recycled paper and timber products play in the protection of the world’s forests.
For more information or to read the FSC Recycled standards please download the relevant Document Centre: https://ic.fsc.org/en/document-center
Sourced: Originally posted by FSC UK