FSC-STD-50-001 Requirements for use of the FSC® trademarks by certificate holders
This document contains the requirements and guidelines for using Forest Stewardship Council trademarks by FSC certificate holders. It covers the labelling and promotion of products with FSC trademarks, as well as the promotion of an organization’s status as an FSC certificate holder.
General objective: revision of the Trademark Standard to ensure its applicability, relevance, and clarity among FSC certificate holders.
Please register here to be informed about this process and the key updates.
Timeline
FSC is launching the 2nd public consultation on the revision of FSC-STD-50-001. The consultation will provide an opportunity for interested stakeholders to provide feedback on the draft version of the standard on how to use the FSC trademarks.
Consultation Period: 7th April 2025 to 6th June 2025
Available on: FSC Consultation Platform
Available in: English, Spanish, and French.
FSC will also be holding a series of public webinars where you can learn more about the proposed changes.
Register here:
- 29 April 2025, 16:00 – 17:30 CET (English only) – Register here
- 30 April 2025, 08:00 – 09:30 CET (English only) – Register here
- 30 April 2025, 16:00 – 17:30 CET (Spanish only) – Register here
This second consultation phase is an important opportunity for certificate holders and other stakeholders to review the proposed changes to the trademark requirements and provide valuable input before the standard is finalized.
The second in-person TWG meeting for the revision of FSC-STD-50-001 took place from February 25th to 27th in Bonn.
During the meeting, the TWG reviewed key standard requirements related to the promotion of FSC trademarks on social media and e-commerce, the Trademark Use Management System, QR labels, labeling agreements, project certification, and promotional statements, among other topics.
This meeting marks a significant milestone in finalizing the draft which will be presented for public consultation.
The first in-person TWG meeting for the revision of the FSC-STD-50-001 was held from January 21st to 23rd in Bonn.
The TWG reviewed the current standard requirements related to ground rules for using FSC trademarks, restrictions on using FSC trademarks, and requirements for labelling, as well as graphic rules for labelling and promotion, among other topics. The group discussed necessary revisions to improve the effectiveness and clarity of the trademark usage requirements. The meeting marked a significant milestone in the revision process.
The kick-off meeting of the Technical Working Group took place on December 3rd.
FSC received 16 applications, from 14 countries. Five candidates were selected and proposed for the approval of the Director General. The Technical Working Group members are:
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Adis Barucic
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Christopher David Reeves
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Glenda Amarilis Lee Pinto
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Jessica Marie Gillen
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Rachele Perazzolo
In line with FSC-PRO-01-001 V4-0, the Policy and Standards Committee and the Director General approved the Terms of Reference. This milestone marked the beginning of the recruitment process for the Technical Working Group.
The focused consultation was closed on 15 April.
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In total, 28 participants provided input to the consultation questions.
A series of thematic workshops focused on priority revision topics was organized, inviting all stakeholders to participate. The first workshop focused on the use of FSC trademarks in digital environments (websites, social media, e-commerce), while the second workshop addressed FSC on-product labelling. The primary objective was to gather input across different stakeholder categories and generate ideas for improving the standard requirements. Workshops were conducted in both English and Spanish. Overall, more than 200 participants attended the Trademarks in digital environments workshops, and 170 participated in the On-product labelling workshops.
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In line with FSC-PRO-01-001 V(4-0) The Development and Revision of FSC Requirements, we organized a focused consultation. The consultation was open for 30 days from 15 March to 15 April on the consultation platform. The consultation was provided in English and Spanish, with comments accepted in any FSC official language.
Region-specific webinars were offered in Romanian and Sinhala, for a mixed audience containing certificate holders and certification bodies. Over 30 participants joined the Romanian session and over 20 joined the Sinhala session.
Continuing the webinar series, the January sessions focused on certificate holders across different regions. Over 600 stakeholders participated in the English and Spanish sessions.
As part of the conceptual phase, we kicked off a webinar series for key stakeholders, focusing on sharing the goals of the revision process and how to provide input. The November sessions were dedicated to FSC International staff, FSC country teams, and certification bodies. Over 100 participants took part in the webinars for FSC International and country teams, and approximately 70 in the webinars for certification bodies. Sessions were offered in English and Spanish.
Project kick-off meeting with internal stakeholders.
The revision for FSC-STD-50-001 was initiated, starting the conceptual phase of the process.
