Forest Stewardship Council Partnership & FSC Friday

By Helen Edwards | September 26, 2018 |
FSC Friday
FSC certification for paper and timber products in AUstraliaI adore trees. You will see me writing, posting photos and talking about them often. If you happen past my walking tracks on any given day, you will see me hugging them. Without trees we are dead. Timber is one of the most sustainable and important materials we have for our homes and has been shown to be good for your health. But it needs to be responsibly grown and harvested.
Any paper products you use also need to be sustainable. That is why we are excited to announce our partnership with The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) – the world’s largest and most trusted certification for sustainable forest management. I am very excited to be partnering with FSC to share their work! Keep an eye out for new businesses with the FSC stamp who will be joining us, to help you make better choices.
According to the FSC  forests support up to 1.6 billion of the poorest people in the world. Sixty million indigenous people and numerous species of plants and animals are totally dependent on forests for their lives. But there is a high demand from people for products that come from forests, and this demand continues to grow, increasingly putting pressure on the world’s forests. Wood is a renewable resource when the forests are responsibly managed with holistic standards that include environmental and social considerations.

FSC Recycled

The FSC Recycled label was introduced to show the important role that recycling paper and timber has in protecting the world’s forests. When it comes to the claim of something being ‘recycled’, in general there is currently no formal need for verification. However, the FSC Recycled label gives you the reassurance 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.
FSC labels
Does that mean the products are originally sourced from FSC certified forests?
Wood products that carry the FSC Recycled label are 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. These must be reclaimed from a product after it has been used for its original purpose. The rest of the material must be verified as pre-consumer waste. Paper products can contain any amount of pre-consumer and post-consumer reclaimed material  – but all applicable parts of the product need to be verified as reclaimed. The FSC Recycled label does not necessarily mean the wood is originally from FSC certified forests – but does guarantee the recycle status and its authenticity.
Is it better to choose recycled or virgin products?
Recycling paper and wood products makes sure we are using the yield of the tree as much as we possibly can, by extending the life span of its fibres. This also lowers how much waste heads to landfills. Using FSC Recycled paper and timber can help to take the pressure off virgin materials, and therefore help protect the world’s forests. We will always need some virgin timber and pulp, because demand for timber products is high and the life span of recycled fibres for use in paper manufacture is limited. Therefore FSC recognizes the role both FSC virgin and recycled paper and timber products play in the protection of the world’s forests.

FSC FridayFSC Friday

FSC Friday, which we are celebrating on Friday October 12, is a global campaign that highlights the importance of forests and the role they play in our lives. The FSC certification scheme is recognised as the gold standard in forestry, as it ensures that forests products are responsibly managed and harvested.
Products that carry the FSC label offer you a guarantee of making a responsible, ethical choice in a crowded marketplace. FSC Friday brings people from all over the world together to raise awareness of the importance of the world’s forests and the key role FSC plays in their preservation through responsible forest management.
Join us on October 12 to celebrate FSC Friday! 
FSC Friday events will take place around the world with organisations and supporters promoting the FSC logo and what it stands for. Each year, schools, businesses, youth groups and many more get involved. Join FSC and people around the globe in celebrating the world’s forests and raising awareness of how important they are for us.
Every year the threat to our forests increases, in the form of environmental change and illegal logging. For over 20 years, FSC has worked to take care of forests and the people, plants, and animal species that depend on them. The FSC label gives you the reassurance that wood, paper, and other forest products have been responsibly sourced from well-managed forests and/or recycled materials.
FSC Friday is about sharing that message, so that more people recognize the role we play and can help us turn the tide against global deforestation.

How do you get involved in FSC Friday?

There are so many ways you can get involved with FSC Friday! Nothing is too big or too small – from an FSC Friday themed morning tea at your office to taking a photo of yourself with your favourite FSC certified product.
FSC has kindly put together an FSC Friday pack to help you celebrate. 
In this pack you will find:

  • FSC Friday posters
  • FSC Friday social media images for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
  • FSC Friday email signatures
  • FSC Friday quiz

Follow #FSCFriday on Twitter and Facebook for ideas from around the world. Head across to the website to find out all the information. 
Join the Thunderclap on 28 September
FSC Friday will be held on 28 September in the rest of the world – so make sure to follow #FSCFriday if you want to support the global Thunderclap event and get involved in helping to ensure our forests remain for the future.
Helen

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