What Is FSC Certified & Why Is It Important?

More companies are looking to prove they're committed to environmental friendliness — and that's a good thing. But it's tough for shoppers to know which companies are legitimate and which are merely jumping on the green bandwagon.

If you want your brand to attract eco-friendly shoppers, you need FSC certification. Read on for a detailed breakdown of FSC certification and its importance to your brand.

What Is FSC Certified Packaging?

Put, FSC certification is certification from the Forest Stewardship Council. The FSC is a nonprofit and global organization that helps to promote and ensure responsible management of forests around the planet. It works to prevent deforestation of certified forests by retailers through practicing and enforcing sustainable forestry and responsible forest management policies.

More specifically, the FSC audits and certifies forests around the globe to ensure they meet both social and environmental sustainability standards. Through this effort, controlled wood harvesting is providing, leading to a healthier environment and ecosystem in the long term.

For example, the FSC may analyze a specific forest used for lumber. If that forest is maintained to ensure adequate tree growth — that is, if it’s not over-mined for resources — it could receive FSC certification.

When a brand makes products with FSC certification or the FSC label/FSC logo, that certification notes that:

• The product is made with or contains forest products made according to FSC standards

• Those forest-based materials are harvested through sustainable forest management practices

• Those forest-based materials are not mixed with unsustainable materials as well

In short, looking for FSC certification is one of the easiest and most important ways consumers can shop sustainably and responsibly. Given the increased focus on eco-friendliness in the modern market, it’s no surprise that more shoppers are seeking brands that can boast FSC certification.

Why Is FSC Certified Packaging Important?

• Sustainability and eco-friendliness

• Benefits workers

• Uplifts Indigenous and local communities

• Transparency 

Sustainability and Eco-Friendliness

For starters, FSC certification ensures that you purchase and use products or packages made to eco-friendly standards. We collectively have a responsibility to the planet to make sure we don’t overuse its resources and allow natural resources to replenish themselves over time. 

Over-harvesting forests can have devastating impacts not only on local environments and ecologies (including plants and animals) but also on worldwide natural developments.

By using FSC-certified wood materials or offering FSC-certified products, like paper products, to your customers, you can rest assured that you're doing your part for the world’s forests. That's an invaluable benefit in and of itself.

Benefits Workers

Furthermore, FSC certification helps workers by maintaining forest resources to harvest. For example, lumber companies or arborists rely on forests renewing themselves over time. This can't happen if companies overharvest wood for products, eventually losing these important jobs.

Thus, FSC certification benefits workers by ensuring they still have environments to work in later down the road.

Uplifts Indigenous and Local Communities

On top of that, FSC certification can help to uplift indigenous and local communities because it requires forest managers for both public and private lands to engage with local community members. More important, it also requires forest managers to protect the rights and privileges of indigenous peoples.

This prevents companies from trampling over lands owned by indigenous people. To ensure proper procedures are followed, the FSC requires all certification audit results to be released to the public, even for private forest lands. This makes the FSC a unique organization among all forest certifying bodies.

Transparency

Lastly, FSC certification provides greater market transparency for consumers and businesses. When a product is FSC certified, customers know they are purchasing something safe for the earth and overall better for the environment. They don’t need to worry about accidentally buying something that includes contaminating materials or is really carbon negative.

Companies benefit from this same transparency as well. They can advertise that they are eco-friendly or “green,” and rest assured that they won’t be accused of lying to their customers or of not knowing about the genuine harm of the products they sell.

How Do You Get FSC Certified?

Forests and companies can become FSC certified in two ways: Forest Management and Chain of Custody.

Organizations must be verified by independent FSC accredited Certification Bodies or certifiers. These certifiers will ensure that a forest conforms to the requirements outlined by the organization by assessing forest management and chain of custody operations.

Companies can become Chain of Custody certified. This certification is for companies that take ownership of a product, like a pencil, lumber, product, or anything else made of wood or forest resources. To do this, companies can:

• Contact an FSC accredited Certification Body for auditing through the certification process.

• Get Chain of Custody Group Certification if the company in question has gross annual sales of wood products of less than $5 million.

Note that FSC certifiers are independent of the organization and companies they may be auditing.

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, FSC certification can help your brand stand out from competitors in the same industry or niche. Even better, it proves that you “walk the walk” rather than “talk the talk” regarding eco-friendliness and forestry preservation. With FSC certification, you’ll surely see more customers and be better positioned to dominate your local market.

Plus, you can get started with FSC-certified packaging right now. Box Genie can offer packaging for all of your brand’s needs. Contact us today to learn more.

Sources:

Packaging | Forest Stewardship Council

What Does "FSC Certified" Mean? | The Spruce

Advantages of FSC | Forest Stewardship Council

Become Certified | Forest Stewardship Council