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A checkmark-and-tree logo certifying that wood or paper-based packaging material comes from responsibly managed forestry.
Also known as: Tree symbol on packaging, Tree and checkmark logo, Forest certification mark
The certification mark of the Forest Stewardship Council, founded in Toronto in 1993 following the 1992 Rio Earth Summit's failure to produce a binding deforestation agreement — certifies sourcing practice, not recyclability, biodegradability, or plastic-free status.
Certifies that wood or paper-based material in the product comes from a supply chain independently audited against FSC's environmental, social and economic forestry standards — a sourcing/chain-of-custody certification, not a claim about recyclability, biodegradability or plastic content.
Contexts: Packaging
FSC certification has faced published criticism questioning whether it always reflects genuinely sustainable forestry practice in every certified supply chain.
A critique of certification rigor in some cases, not evidence the mark itself is meaningless.
Comes in three levels that mean quite different things, and the label beneath the tree says which. FSC 100% means the wood comes wholly from certified forests; FSC Recycled means it is reclaimed material; FSC Mix means a controlled blend of certified, recycled and other checked sources. A reader comparing two packets who ignores the label is comparing nothing.
Contexts: Packaging
Is met on paper and card packaging, on printed books and magazines, on tissue and kitchen paper, on garden furniture and charcoal, and on flat-pack furniture — anywhere a wood or paper supply chain wants to make a claim about where the material came from.
Contexts: Packaging
Related forms that are not treated as separate canonical symbols — see our variant rules.
FSC 100%
All the wood or fibre comes from FSC-certified forests.
FSC Recycled
The material is reclaimed — post-consumer or pre-consumer — rather than newly harvested.
FSC Mix
A controlled blend of certified, recycled and verified other material. The commonest of the three on everyday packaging, and the weakest claim.
A stylised checkmark whose shape also reads as a tree, alongside 'FSC' lettering.