FSC Wood and You by Lewis Williams

As a society we rely heavily upon trees for providing a wide range of our everyday products.  But how do we know as buyers where the trees used for our wood/wood-based products have come from?  Without the knowledge of where the raw products are coming from, we as buyers could be contributing towards the deforestation that is occurring globally.

Fagus sylvatica (Beech) woodland

This deforestation is destructive as well as illegal in some cases, and is a major contributor towards climate change. 

Forests are disappearing at an alarming rate; Greenpeace state that an area the size of a football pitch is being cleared every two seconds.

• They recycle rainfall.
• Tree roots anchor soil helping to prevent flooding, landslides and soil erosion.
• Over 70 million people live within tropical rainforests and are dependant on them for their survival.
• Many species of plants and animals, some of these being endangered species are reliant on the forests.
• They store and absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2).
• They have beneficial effects on regulating the global climate.
• They provide life-saving medicines.

Greenpeace state that over 80% of the world’s ancient forests are already lost or seriously damaged and it is clear that essential protection and management of forests is required.  It is therefore necessary to source and grow wood from managed forests and to make sure that it is not a product of the destructive deforestation.  This is where the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) comes in.

The FSC “is an international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests.”  The FSC provides a trustworthy labelling scheme that identifies that a wood/wood-based product has come from a well-managed certified forest.  Certified forests are those maintained to the FSC’s 10 Principles of Forest Stewardship (which can be found on the FSC website, the link is provided below) which covers issues regarding the forest’s environment, the wildlife and the people who live and/or work within them.

FSC 100% logo

There are different forms of the FSC logo; there is the FSC 100%, FSC Mixed Sources and FSC Recycled.  Each logo clearly identifies the nature of the wood/wood-based product, whether it is from certified forests and/or post-consumer waste.  The FSC lists ten facts about the benefits of using FSC products (which can be found in the publication listed below) I have highlighted some of these below:

• The FSC provides protection for parts of forests from felling to protect the plants, animals and people within.
• Those trees which are harvested are either replaced or allowed to regenerate naturally.
• Forest owners must provide necessary working conditions for employees as well as beneficial support for the surrounding community.
• The FSC is endorsed by WWF, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and The Woodland Trust.
• The FSC label can be found on many products including gardening products (fences, decking, charcoal) even including footballs and Venison.

FSC fence panels for sale

FSC logo on a bird feeder

FSC 100% logo on chair

Wood/wood-based products, in my view, should only be used when their source of origin is from a sustainable and managed forest, without this then it could easily be from one of the rapidly disappearing forests across the world.  The FSC logo gives us as the buyer the guarantee that the product is from a FSC certified forest and is therefore not a result of the unjustifiable global deforestation.  Only with us as buyers choosing to purchase FSC products can we help to prevent the destructive and illegal logging instead of contributing towards it.

Lewis Williams (July 2008)

References and sources of further information:

• The BBC website contains a page of ethical gardening with wood products. Click here to view the site.
• The Forest Stewardship Council
• The Forest Stewardship Council Publication: ‘What is the Forest Stewardship Council - Factsheet’. Click here to view it.
• Greenpeace 
• The World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
• Friends of the Earth
• The Woodland Trust