There are three FSC labels: FSC 100%, FSC Mix and FSC Recycled
A. FSC 100%
All the forest-based timber or fibre in an FSC 100% product comes from an FSC-certified forest. FSC 100% products are processed using the FSC 'transfer system’.
B. FSC Mix
The timber or fibre in an FSC Mix product is a mixture of some/all of the following:
• Virgin timber/fibre from an FSC-certified forest
• Reclaimed/recycled timber/fibre
• FSC Controlled Wood
If the product is produced under the FSC ‘percentage system’ it must contain a minimum of 70% FSC-certified wood/fibre and/or post-consumer input, and the balance must be controlled wood and/or pre-consumer reclaimed material. In paper products, both pre-consumer and post-consumer reclaimed materials count as valid ‘FSC’ inputs. If the product is produced under the FSC ‘credit system’, there is no minimum FSC/post-consumer input, however, only a proportion of products (relative to the FSC/post-consumer inputs) can be labelled and/or promoted as FSC certified.
C. FSC Recycled
All timber or fibre in an FSC Recycled product must be pre-consumer or post-consumer reclaimed. For wood products produced under the FSC ‘percentage system’ a minimum of 70% of the inputs must be post-consumer reclaimed; there is no threshold for paper products, but all inputs must be verified as reclaimed. FSC Recycled products can also be produced under the FSC ‘credit’ or ‘transfer’ systems.
1. FSC-certified forests
FSC-certified forests are managed with consideration for people, wildlife and the environment. They are independently audited to ensure they meet FSC’s Principles and Criteria for Forest Management.
2. FSC Controlled Wood
FSC Controlled Wood is material from acceptable sources that can be mixed with FSC-certified material in products that carry the FSC Mix label. To count as FSC Controlled Wood a material’s forest of origin must be risk assessed against the FSC Controlled Wood standards and found to be at a low risk of being:
• Illegally logged
• Harvested from areas where there is violation of traditional or civil rights
• Harvested from forests in which high conservation values are threatened by management activities
• Harvested from areas being converted from forests and other wooded ecosystems to plantations or non forest uses
• Harvested from forests in which genetically modified (GM) trees are planted
3. Reclaimed
Post-consumer reclaimed:
Material that is reclaimed from consumer or commercial products that have been used for their intended purpose by end-users.
Pre-consumer reclaimed:
Material that is reclaimed from a process of secondary manufacture or further downstream industry, in which the material has not been intentionally produced; is unfit for end-use; is not capable of being reused on-site in the same manufacturing process that generated it. Examples include sawdust, damaged stock and off-cuts.