Companies, which are currently operating within the transitory requirements for chip and fiber products, may soon need adjust to stricter requirements fully in line with the FSC Controlled Wood system.
Transitory requirements allow for lower FSC-labeling thresholds
The transitory requirements allow a minimum content of FSC-certified or post-consumer reclaimed material of 50% in order to apply the FSC MIX label to products consisting of chip and fibers, as opposed to the usual 70% labeling threshold. It is important to note that the minimum applies only to qualification of the product for applying the FSC label; companies may sell products with FSC Mixed x % claims on invoices at lower thresholds.
The transitory requirements were adopted in 2004 and retained during the last revision of the FSC chain of custody standard in 2006-2007, with an initial deadline set at the end of 2009.
Last year, the transition period was extended by one year until the end of 2010.
Need for adjustment
Companies manufacturing chip and/or fiber products under the percentage system will need to ensure that products produced after 1st of January 2011 contain at least 70% certified material. This means an increase of 20% for those companies who have so far been working with the minimum threshold of 50%.
The advice is not final yet
Please note that the advice note is only published in draft format. It is thus not finalized and changes may still appear. This article is provided as an early notice in relation to these important developments.
Only two weeks of consultation - inside the summer holiday season – were allowed by FSC for stakeholders who would like to comment on the draft. The consultation period ended on the 9th of August.