The FSC International Board of Directors has approved a once-off measure to extend the ’FSC Mix 50 per cent registered’ claim for chip and fibre products until the new chain of custody standard becomes effective on its target date of 1 July 2016.
The FSC Mix label is used on products to demonstrate that at least 70 per cent of the wood in the product is from FSC-certified, or reclaimed, material; and 30 per cent is from controlled wood sources. The threshold changed from 50 to 70 per cent in 2011.
Due to sourcing constraints, a phase-out period was granted to 388 companies to continue using the FSC Mix label on products with the 50 per cent threshold until 31 December 2015.
Many companies have made tremendous strides in reaching the 70 per cent threshold, and higher, at most of their production sites, but have not reached the threshold at all due to limited certified forest in proximity to their mills.
As such, on 20 November 2015, after consulting stakeholders, the FSC International Board of Directors agreed to an additional, limited extension of six months to the registered companies to allow them to finalise their sourcing and stock issues, and to align with the Chain of Custody Certification (FSC-STD-40-004) revision process.
Full details of the extension can be found in the Advice Note (ADVICE-40-004-003), which is part of the Directive FSC-DIR-40-004 (see pdf below). With the introduction of the revised chain of custody standard in July 2016 (tentative target date), all companies will need to meet the 70 per cent threshold for all new products manufactured under the percentage system.