FSC-Watch

SCS certification of Jurua Forestal, Brazil: FSC plumbs new depths of bad practiceTags: Brazil, Accreditation controls, Certifier conflict of interest, SCS

To some people, such as Mayor Salvatore Perillo of Ocean City, New Jersey, USA, the FSC represents the 'Gold Standard' of forest certification; an assurance that wood comes from well-managed and properly independently audited sources. But Mayor Perillo, and many others, would do well to know what lies behind the FSC's claims. One of the more shocking examples - Jurua Forestal Ltda, which is felling timber in the Brazilian rainforest - is a potential supplier of ipe timber for the imminent repair of Perillo's Ocean City sea-front boardwalks.

Jurua Forestal was first certified for FSC by the California-based Scientific Certification Systems Inc in April 2002...[Continue]

A Million Acres of Clearcuts and Pesticide Use "Certified" in Canada and MaineTags: USA, Canada, Complaints procedures, SCS

This article was submitted by Mary Pjerrou, Greenwood Earth Alliance, .com

The Forest Stewardship Council certification of nearly one million acres of the J.D. Irving company's forest holdings, its clear-cutting practices and widespread use of pesticides, in Canada and in the state of Maine, both by Scientific Certification Systems, (SCS) of Oakland, California, exemplify the abuses and failures of the FSC certification process that have made the FSC label an unreliable guide for consumers who want to purchase wood from well-managed forests...[Continue]

Certified destruction of California's ancient redwood forestsTags: USA, SCS

The following was submitted by the Greenwood Earth Alliance

We are appalled at the Forest Stewardship Council activities in our region, specifically in Mendocino County, California, where the FSC's certifier, Scientific Certification Systems, certified a program of clear-cutting (with the absurd stipulation of a 50 year phase-out), pesticide use (no phase-out date; and including the use of imazapyr, a persistent pesticide that violates FSC guidelines), species extinction, and continued depletion of 235,000 acres of once magnificent redwood forest, now owned and being logged by the Fisher family of Gap Inc...[Continue]