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Why is FSC certification important?
There is considerable interest in the production and marketing of certified products, especially for the FSC ® certified wood. By deciding to get into the certification process, companies producing timber or finished hardwood products, including furniture, may enjoy some advantages such as access to the certified wood markets of Western Europe, North America, and some areas of Asia. Buyers on these markets are more and more aware of the importance of forest management certifications and have a higher interest in certified products.
What does FSC ® mean?
FSC ® (Forest Stewardship Council ®) is an independent, non-governmental and nonprofit organization set up in 1993 to promote responsible forest management in forests around the world. This organization provides services through the FSC ® International Center in Bonn, Germany, and through an international network. We emphasize that the FSC ® is the only global forest management certification system and has the advantage of controlling uncertified timber from FSC ®-branded products.
Among the main tasks of the FSC ® are the accreditation of certificates and FSC ® national initiatives, the labeling of wood products, and the development of new standards. By purchasing certified wood products, the wood used to produce the product is guaranteed to come from sustainably managed forests based on social, economic, and environmental criteria.
Through FSC ® certification, companies involved in the production of finished or semi-finished wood products avoid a series of situations, such as illegally harvested timber trade, or trade of timber whose harvest lead to violation of some civil and traditional rights. In other words, this standard allows entrepreneurs to reduce the risk of buying unacceptable wood.
Benefits of FSC certifications
FSC certifications bring a series of benefits to businesses, such as conservation of products from responsibly managed forests, the guarantee of marketing and use of timber that meets environmental and social requirements, tracking of raw materials and semi-processed products from the forest to consumer, improvement of production processes, communication to the public, through FSC ® brand labeling, value added to the product, demonstration of own contribution to responsible forestry management.
In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the number of buyers of certified products, with consumers becoming more and more informed and educated about the importance and benefits of producer, consumer, local communities, forestry, and wood processing employees or NGOs. This will also lead to greater recognition of this market, with independent certification becoming an increasingly credible way to convey a robust environmental policy.
Lafor is an FSC ® certified producer of beechwood timber and hardwood lumber, edge-glued panels for the furniture industry, wooden stairs, stair treads, and raisers, kitchen furniture, solid wood drawers, and equal widths hardwood lumber for door frames.