What is FSC?

I'm sure by now we've all seen the FSC trademark on something - direct mail piece, greeting card, wrapping paper, paint stirrer or some other paper or wood product. Unlike the ubiquitous recycle symbol, you cannot just stick an FSC logo on any printed piece. It's use is carefully governed by the Forest Stewardship Council.

The Forest Stewardship Council is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. It sets forth principles, criteria, and standards that span economic, social, and environmental concerns. The FSC standards represent the world’s strongest system for guiding forest management toward sustainable outcomes.

Forest managers worldwide have to be certified before they can use the FSC logo on their products. This means following certain best practices for harvesting wood products, sustainability, and biodiversity. Traders and manufacturers need FSC chain of custody certification in order to make FSC certified paper and wood products.

Printers and publishers are important links in the chain and so either the printer or the publisher is required to have FSC chain of custody certification to use the FSC trademarks on printed publications. Best Printing Online is one of an elite group of printers in the United States that has made a commitment to being environmentally conscious.

Make sure to ask your customer service representative about printing the FSC logo on your certified print project and help promote healthy forests.