Forest Stewardship Council
The FSC is the ONLY forest certification system endorsed by the major environmental groups. Major international conservation groups such as Greenpeace, Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Rainforest Action Network, and many others, help support the FSC. FSC certification is considered the “gold standard” for forest certification. There are competing forest certification systems that have been launched by the forest products’ industry to compete with FSC, but they are much weaker and are lacking in credibility. By purchasing FSC certified products, you are supporting truly responsible forestry practices.
Which Product is “Greener?”
Are there species of wood we shouldn't use? Is Oak better than Brazilian Cherry? With the exception of a few species that are near extinction, the answer is:
There are no good or bad species -- there is only good and bad forestry.
The certification of wood products is similar to the certification of organic produce. Tomatoes are not inherently more organic than lettuce - it is a question of what farming practices were used where the produce was grown. There are organic tomatoes, and there are tomatoes that come from farms using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Similarly, there is Oak that comes from bad forestry and Brazilian Cherry that comes from excellent forestry - and vice versa. This is why we use the FSC certification process to create the link between the quality of the forestry and the wood floor in our customers' homes and businesses.
Where is Responsible Forestry Practiced?
Generally speaking, North American and Western European woods are more likely to have been harvested responsibly than are tropical woods or woods from Eastern Europe or Siberia. When choosing among tropical woods, keep in mind that responsible forestry is much more widespread in Latin America than it is in Africa, Southeast Asia, or Indonesia, so it's generally advisable to avoid species from those areas (for example, Teak, Merbau, Kempas, Wenge, Doussie, Iroko and Sapele) unless they are FSC certified.
FSC
Managed Forests
FSC certified forestry means forests are managed for ecological health, sustainable harvest levels, and social responsibility. The ecological health includes protecting the wildlife, water, air and soil. By never cutting more than what will grow back, they ensure sustainable harvest levels. Giving workers and communities a fair share helps create vibrant, sustainable local economies. By developing responsible forest management practices, the FSC is ensuring that existing forests will be around for future generations to come. Forest ecosystems are often destroyed to make way for tree plantations, so FSC certification is essential even with plantation-grown wood. FSC does not certify plantations that replace natural forests.
FSC Certification in the Tropics
In the tropics,
FSC certification helps local communities manage their forests sustainably.
This creates an ongoing source of income while maintaining a healthy
forest that can provide timber, nuts and other foods, habitat for
game animals, fresh water and shade.
In Guatemala, jungle areas that were set aside as reserves have
been illegally settled, while the FSC area has a healthy ecosystem
where the locals protect their own forest. This situation shows
how buying FSC-certified wood can help save a forest ecosystem:
“a forest that pays is a forest that stays.” A reserve with no management
is pictured on the left below, while a FSC Managed forest is pictured
on the right below. By buying FSC-certified tropical wood, we create
an economic value for the rainforest ecosystem, creating an alternative
to land uses that destroy the forest such as subsistence farming,
soy beans, and cattle.
FSC Labels
There are several different types of labels for FSC certified products. Each label is backed by a different set of procedures that manufacturers must follow. The two FSC labels most often used in the wood flooring industry are the “FSC Pure” label and the “FSC Mixed Sources” label.
FSC Mixed Sources
As the name implies,
the FSC Mixed Sources label is used on products that contain a mixture
of FSC certified and non-certified material and/or recycled material.
The FSC requires that the non-certified portion be from “controlled”
sources, meaning that this non-FSC wood must at least be from sources
that are not illegally logged, from old growth forests, or other
unacceptable sources. However the procedures for overseeing “controlled
wood” claims are still in development and are not nearly as reliable
as the verification of FSC certified wood.
A significant percentage of the engineered wood flooring on the
market that bears the FSC Mixed Sources label uses a non-certified
wear layer on top of core and back material that comes from FSC
certified plantations. The wood that you see and walk on is not
FSC certified, and no one can prove that it comes from responsible
sources. In fact, the only claim that can be made is that it doesn’t
come from the very worst sources, and today even this claim is hard
to prove or disprove.
In a couple of cases (our Elements line and our Hard Maple), EcoTimber
has made the decision to use uncertified top layers in order to
make the products as affordable as possible, but we do so only after
thoroughly researching and verifying that the top layers come from
excellent forestry. In the case of our Maple, it comes from well-managed
forests in Canada. Canadian Maple forests are, in general, managed
very well. Luckily, clear-cutting a northern hardwood forest doesn't
make economic sense. In the case of our Elements, all of the White
Oak comes from Germany, where strict forestry laws ensure sustainability
regardless of certification. It is our intention to upgrade these
product lines to 100% FSC as soon as there is adequate FSC log supply
at reasonable pricing. Our customers can be assured that we will
NEVER sell Mixed Sources products that originate from tropical rainforests
or other forests of concern.
FSC
Pure
The FSC Pure label means that ALL of the wood in the product comes from FSC certified forests or plantations. Obviously, this is a much higher standard than the FSC Mixed Sources label. Given that FSC is the gold standard for forest certification, then FSC 100% is as good as it gets! EcoTimber is the market leader in engineered wood flooring with the FSC Pure label. Nearly all of our engineered wood flooring products are FSC Pure. EcoTimber is in the process of achieving FSC Pure status for all of our products.
Verifying
a Product is FSC
The fact that
a company has FSC certification does not mean that what is being
sold is FSC certified. Many companies that have FSC "Chain
of Custody" (COC) certification, which gives them the right
to buy and sell FSC certified wood, do not really sell much FSC
certified wood at all. This is particularly true in the wood flooring
industry. Some flooring companies are even using the FSC logo on
display samples, but ship uncertified material to fill your order.
Either they don’t really offer that product FSC-certified, or they
only do so on a special order basis, and the consumer doesn’t realize
this until the flooring is delivered, the installation is scheduled,
and it’s too late to turn back.
Most FSC certified wood products have on-product FSC labels. If
you are purchasing what you believe is FSC certified wood, but there
are no FSC logos on the product packaging, it most likely is not
certified, no matter what the rest of the information provided by
the manufacturer or supplier might indicate. To verify the FSC certified
status of a wood product that does not bear the FSC logo, demand
not only the supplier's COC certificate, but also an invoice or
receipt detailing the FSC certified status of each product on an
individual line-item basis. If the invoice line item does not say
"FSC-certified," the material is not certified.
