The Forest Stewardship Council is an international organisation
promoting responsible forest management. FSC has developed principles
for forest management, which may be used for certifying the management
of forest holdings, and a system of tracing, verifying and labelling timber
and wood products which originate from FSC-certified forests.
Key Points:
The FSC logo appears
on products in three distinct types of label:
-
FSC 100%
- for products that contain only certified virgin fibre.
-
FSC Mixed
Sources – for products with a proportion of certified virgin
fibre and the rest either from non-certified or recycled sources.
-
FSC Recycled
– for products containing 100% post-consumer recycled fibre.
The FSC scheme also
includes a ‘chain of custody’ system for tracing products
back to the forest of origin. Our Merchant Partner has chain of
custody certification.
There are strict rules
for using the logo. Printers who want the logo to appear on a job
printed on an FSC paper need to be covered by FSC chain of custody
certification.
The FSC has the support
of many environmental groups who view it as the only truly independent
scheme that is consistently applied worldwide and covers all pertinent
issues.
Many forest owners
and paper producers are less keen and prefer the PEFC scheme.
Purelypaper is a licensed user of the FSC trademark. FSC labelled products
displayed on this website have been independently certified by FSC accredited
certification bodies.
The use of the FSC logo on our website identifies papers
which are produced using FSC accredited pulp from well managed forests
certified in accordance with the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council.
PEFC
The PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest
Certification) is a framework for the mutual recognition of national or
regional forest certification schemes, rather than being a specific scheme
in its own right. National governing bodies apply for membership
of the PEFC Council.
Key Points:
A minimum of 70% of
the fibre must be PEFC approved for the product to carry the logo.
A chain of custody scheme and product
logo are available.
There is widespread support amongst
those in the forest and paper industry, who view it as more flexible,
economic and user friendly.
Environmental groups are less keen
and prefer the FSC scheme.
Purelypaper is a licensed user of the PEFC logo
NAPM Recycled Mark
This is the National Association of Paper Merchants’
scheme for designating a paper as recycled.
Key Points:
To qualify a product
must contain at least 75% recycled fibre, which can be either pre-
or post-consumer waste.
The other 25% can be mill broke
or virgin fibre.
Blue Angel
This German environmental label is the oldest ecolabel
in the world. It is very popular in Germany but fairly rare in the UK.
Key Points:
It applies to more
than 80 products including recycled paper.
Papers must be 100% recycled utilising
paper from household and commercial collections.
Compared to paper products made
from primary fibres using wood as a source of fibre, raw material
recycled papers with the Blue Angel label reduce the consumption
of wood resources and water and energy consumption whilst maintaining
a comparable level of product serviceability.
ISO14001
The standard published by the International Standards
Organisation specifying the requirements of an environmental management
system. Certified organisations are committed to the continuous
improvement of aspects like energy efficiency, waste reduction and pollution
control.
Key Points:
Refers to environmental
management of the mill rather than the product itself.
ISO14001 does not specify
the level of an organisation’s environmental performance (it
doesn’t necessarily mean an organisation has good environmental
credentials).
It does require an organisation
to commit to complying with legislation and regulation and to continuous
improvement.
In practice ISO14001 means that
an organisation has examined its operations and identified areas
that have an impact on the environment.
There is no official logo available.
EMAS
The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme is the European Union’s
regulated environmental management system. Similar to ISO14001 but is
more stringent and requires the public reporting of progress.
Key Points:
Refers to the environmental
management of the mill rather than the product itself.
There is an off-product logo available
(subject to strict requirements for use).
Use of the logo on products is
being trialled.
Nordic Swan
An environmental label encouraging production methods
that create minimum environmental impact.
Key Points:
It applies to many
types of products and even services.
The broad criteria are a ‘life
cycle analysis’, quality and performance standards and the
periodic raising of environmental standards.
Once popular, it has now been dropped
by many paper manufacturers in favour of environmental management
systems such as EMAS.
Still found on some office papers
Copyright 2004
Purelypaper Ltd provides all information in good
faith but may not be held liable for loss or damage arising from action
based on these Buying Guides.
Copyright Notice:
The materials and information on www.purelypaper.co.uk
and of www.purelypaper.co.uk and their style and structure are protected
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by you except as expressly provided in our User
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