A brief entry on sustainable wood.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is “an international not-for-profit membership-based organization that brings people together to find solutions to the problems created by bad forestry practices and to reward good forest management.”
The FSC is an international organization that encourages sustainable and responsible use of the world’s forests. It sets international standards for forest management and “accredits independent third party organizations who can certify forest managers and forest product producers to FSC standards”
Those of us involved in wood work, or are purchasing wood for whatever reason should keep an eye out for the internationally recognized FSC trademark and support the work of sustainable forest logging.
It is also worth noting that you can buy FSC paper and toilet roll. The symbol can usually be found on the packaging if the product has come from a sustainable source. Considering that these items are both products that we use almost without thinking lets make the effort to know it isn’t adding to the conglomeration of pressures on the world’s forests.
(I’ve been told B&Q use only FSC products and thanks to “Zoky” we have a link. Read here to see their policy on sustainable wood.)
The Earthbound Report 
I found this site which says a little more about B&Q’s wood policy http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/aboutbandq/social_responsibility/BQSRTIMB.PDF
One day I will learn how to do those clever little link things that allow you to click on a website address and jump straight into it!
Actually its not as simple as that.
Check out this website for some inconvienient truth about FSC certified wood.
http://www.fsc-watch.org/
Its a well meaning organisation that unfortunately fails to deliver certainty to consumers. It could be doing more harm that good.
Okay, that’s interesting. These things are so often more contentious than they initially appear. Thanks for the link.
And is there an alternative certifying body you would recommend?
Yes, thank you for the link. That is definitely a point of concern and like Jeremy said, does anyone know alternatives?
I’m not too surprised that there are circumstances where the FSC label is being abused. There have been similar instances with Fair Trade over the years. I don’t want to put a black mark on the label straight away because there are many companies that do stick to the regulations(but like you say, there are also instances where it is abused) A large majority of FSC wood actually comes from Scandinavia where they have been felling forests sustainably years before FSC even arrived on the scene.
Thanks for the link again. It is a point of concern that i will look into.
It’s the first time I commented here and I must say that you give us genuine, and quality information for other bloggers! Great job.
p.s. You have a very good template for your blog. Where did you find it?