Lockwoods Environmental

FSC is an international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world's forests. It was founded in 1993 in response to public concern about deforestation and demand for a trustworthy wood-labelling scheme. There are national working groups in more than 50 countries, including the UK. FSC UK is a regis-tered charity, supported by NGOs including WWF, Green-peace and the Woodland Trust.

Every year an area half the size of the UK is cleared of natural forests: temperate and tropical, North and South and on every continent. These forests, which once covered half of the planet, are irreplaceable and their loss has profound economic, social and environmental impacts. Sixty million indigenous people and countless species of plants and animals are wholly dependent on forests to live and forests support up to 1.6 billion of the poorest people in the world.

The products of this illegal trade can be found throughout the UK, from building sites to private homes. FSC think this is unacceptable and exist to make sure people can buy timber and wood products with the confidence that they are contrib-uting towards safeguarding the world's forests.

The FSC runs a global forest certification system with two key components: Forest Management and Chain of Custody certification. This system allows consumers to identify, purchase and use timber and forest products produced from well-managed forests.

FAQ’s

How does the FSC system work?

Forests are inspected and certified against strict standards based on FSC's 10 Principles of Forest Stewardship. These inspections are undertaken by independent organisations, such as the Soil Association, that are accredited by the FSC. In order to be given FSC certification a forest must be managed in an environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable manner. This is what makes the FSC system unique and ensures that a forest is well-managed from the protection of indigenous people's rights to the methods of felling trees. Forests that meet these strict standards are given FSC certification and the timber allowed to carry the FSC label.

How can I be sure that the product really does come from an FSC well-managed forest?

In addition to forest certification, the FSC system includes a certified chain of custody that tracks the timber through every stage in the supply chain from the forest to the final user. This is monitored through the invoicing process and the final label on the product has a code that confirms that the item is genuinely FSC.

What does the FSC label mean?

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) logo on a wood or wood based product is your assurance that it is made with, or contains, wood that comes from FSC certified forests or from post-consumer waste.

Which products carry the label?

The FSC label is currently found on over 10,000 product lines in the UK alone. You'll find it on garden furniture, decking, sheds, conservatories, tools, bird boxes and bird tables, kitchen, bathroom and general housewares, brushes, wallpaper, flooring, doors, shelves, furniture, toilet tissue, paper, pencils - in fact most things made from wood. It can also be found on less obvious items such as charcoal, and there are now also coffins available.

Why is the FSC trademark different from forest certification schemes?

There are a number of other forest certification schemes around but they do not have the same strict environmental, social and economic standards or such a rigorous chain of custody; tracking timber from the forest to the final user. Therefore the FSC is the only one endorsed by the major environment charities including WWF, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the Woodland Trust.