Trademark licensing

Consumers rightly have high expectations that the forest-based products they buy are sourced responsibly and do not contribute to deforestation. Promotion of FSC-certified products and packaging by brands and retailers empowers consumers to make informed choices about the products they purchase. We encourage retailers, brand owners, and other organisations to use the power of our brand by creating their own unique and compelling promotional campaigns and materials. Through these tailored campaigns, businesses can communicate their commitment to responsible forest management to their customers –all supported by our influential FSC trademarks.

We carefully monitor and protect the way our trademarks are used. By making sure our trademarks are used appropriately, we keep them credible –and that’s what enables businesses to benefit from the trust we’ve built with consumers globally.

Organisations that do not need chain of custody certification may be eligible for an FSC promotional licence to authorise them to use our registered trademarks in promotional materials. 10% of all FSC promotional licences worldwide are held by organisations in the UK.

To support UK promotional licence holders and applicants FSC UK has created two guides: Using your FSC promotional licence and Applying for an FSC promotional trademark licence. A printed version of the new FSC Trademark Use Guide for Promotional Licence Holders was also produced for distribution to UK licence holders.

Here are a few of the new promotional trademark licences that were issued in the UK in 2019/20:

Smol (FSC ® N002987)

use the FSC label on their boxes to show that the packaging used for their eco-friendly laundry and dishwasher tablets is responsibly sourced, they use their licence to promote their FSC-certified packaging online.

Home and garden retailer, wilko (FSC ® N003171) have been “freeingup hard-working families to be the best they can be for 90 years, with products that simply help and prices that respect customers’ hard-earned cash”. As an omni-channel retailer they are committed to “designing everyday home and garden products that not only get customers’ jobs done but are ethical and sustainable too.” Their timber policy sets out their desire to source from well-managed forests and supports the use of UK governmentrecognised timber certification schemes, particularly FSC. They sell a range of FSC-certified products, including stationery and garden accessories, both online at wilko.com and in more than 400 stores across the UK.”

McCain created the first ever frozen chip and went on to become the world’s largest manufacturer of frozen potato products. McCain Foods (GB) (FSC ® N003076)

have pledged to source all their cardboard from sources guaranteeing FSC standards by the end of 2020 and plan to communicate this on their packaging.

The British Heart Foundation

(FSC ® N003124)

fund millions of pounds’ worth of vital research each year into heart and circulatory disease and related conditions, such as diabetes. They sell FSC-labelled greetings cards to help fund their work. Their trademark licence enables them to promote these to customers using the FSC trademarks in point of sale materials.

All the gift boxes and product cartons ‘modern apothecary’ Neal’s Yard Remedies (FSC ® N003110) use to package their award-winning natural and organic health and beauty products are FSC certified and labelled. They also purchase FSC-certified paper and card for use within their business.

©Neal’s Yard Remedies