Sunday, 04 April 2010
New FSC Trademark Standard
The FSC trademark guarantees customers that an FSC-labeled product has been verified as having been sourced from well-managed forests, controlled sources, recycled sources, or a mixture of these. Any company within the supply chain that manufactures, processes, transforms, or takes legal ownership of FSC fiber needs to be FSC chain of custody (CoC) certified in order to place an FSC label on a product or to make or pass on an FSC claim.
All FSC CoC certifications are conducted by independent third-party certifiers and are valid for five years, with an audit taking place every year for the duration of the certificate.
The variety of FSC-certified products has expanded since FSC’s trademark standards were developed in 2004, bringing with it new demands. The need for simpler guidance as well as dealing with new market needs led to the decision by the FSC Board of Directors in 2009 to undertake a review of the trademark standard.
The trademark standard has been restructured into one document. “Requirements for use of the FSC trademarks by certificate holders” covers requirements for on-product labeling, promotional use of the trademarks and graphic requirements.
Companies that are currently certified will be assessed against the new standard from January 1, 2011, onward. If a company would like to be assessed against the new standard prior to this date, it may do so. For all new FSC certificate holders, this new standard took effect on March 1, 2010.