FSC seal – what is it and what does it do?
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international non-profit organization. The Bonn-based company was founded in 1993. The council created, operates, and continues to develop the first system for certifying sustainable forestry. The term FSC is also used for the FSC certification system and the FSC symbol (also called the FSC logo, FSC certificate, or FSC quality label).
The story on Das Erste – The exploitation of the rainforests
The FSC seal is under scrutiny. This report from SWR is thought-provoking.
The FSC seal for sustainable forestry has been in place for 25 years, yet primary forests are disappearing at an ever-increasing rate. What's the point of a seal that won't be revoked even in the event of a conviction?
The primeval forests are disappearing at an ever-increasing rate. The Earth's ongoing deforestation is responsible for more CO2 emissions than all cars and trucks combined. Twenty-five years ago, an international organization, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), was established to halt the decline of the primeval forests. The FSC seal is considered the world's most important eco-label. It is intended to show consumers that furniture, paper, decking, etc., were made from "environmentally friendly" felled wood. The FSC, based in Bonn, has so far certified the forest management of more than 200 million hectares of forest, an area roughly the size of Western Europe.
The exploitation of the taiga:Excerpt from “The Story on Das Erste” |
The exploitation of the primeval forests:Complete article “The Story on Das Erste” |
Authors Manfred Ladwig and Thomas Reutter draw a fascinating conclusion: What have 25 years of FSC achieved? To determine whether the FSC can halt the destruction of the rainforests, they spent months filming in global deforestation hotspots. Their investigative research reveals, among other things, that the FSC does not revoke its seal even from companies accused of processing illegally logged rainforest timber. Even a company convicted of illegal deforestation in the Brazilian rainforest is allowed to continue using the seal for sustainable forestry.
An investigative film about the connections between the FSC, illegal deforestation and the displacement of forest dwellers.
A film by Manfred Ladwig and Thomas Reutter
Defective copy QUALITY SEALGreenpeace is ending its membership in the FSC , which aims to use its seal to identify sustainable forestry. The FSC seal is intended to guarantee wood from sustainable forestry. In 1993, non-governmental organizations such as Greenpeace and industry representatives founded the Forest Stewardship Council to create a cross-border standard. After a quarter of a century, Greenpeace International and Greenpeace Germany are ending their membership. Christoph Thies, Greenpeace forestry expert, explains the background to this difficult decision in an interview. Greenpeace: Despite its membership in recent years, Greenpeace has never refrained from criticizing the FSC label. Was there a specific reason for withdrawing at this point? |
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Christoph Thies: The FSC is still the only credible seal for ecological forestry. However, we've been struggling with virgin forests over the years. Greenpeace has documented how FSC-certified virgin forests have been cleared, for example in Russia and the Congo Basin. However, preserving the last intact virgin forest areas is one of Greenpeace's core goals. Industrial forestry should not take place here at all – if at all, only for the needs of the surrounding communities. But not on a large scale. Greenpeace cannot stand for that. Read more…
Eloorac does not use any FSC-certified material.
We are convinced that our transport system itself has a much greater added value than a seal that promises to replant trees but still allows entire forests to be cut down. The fact that the FSC, monoculture replanting as ecological, is reason enough to stop boasting about an FSC label.
By using Eloorac REUSABLE Transport racks reduce unnecessary deforestation. Naturally, our transport system is made of wood. The proven X-fold reusability of each Eloorac transport rack shows, however, that ultimately significantly fewer trees have to be felled compared to the wood consumption for disposable transport racks.