The FSC logo is a trademark, not a decoration, and treating it like a design element is how brands end up reprinting a run. Chain-of-custody certification allows a product to carry the mark; it does not allow anyone to place the logo wherever it looks good. The rules are set by the trademark owner and enforced by certification bodies, and they are stricter than most buyers expect. What follows is general guidance – your certification body is the authority on your specific label.
Who is allowed to put the FSC logo on packaging? An organisation holding a valid chain-of-custody certificate, or one operating under a trademark licence, using material from certified sources in the correct category. The printer matters too: the label is printed under the certificate holder’s code, and an unlicensed printer producing the pack is a compliance problem regardless of where the board came from.
Which logo variant do I use? Three exist – FSC 100%, FSC Mix and FSC Recycled – and the correct one depends on the input material, not on marketing preference. Using the 100% mark on a pack containing mixed certified and controlled material is a misstatement. The variant also carries a licence code that must be the certificate holder’s, not a generic one copied from another brand’s pack.
What approval is needed before printing? The artwork carrying the label is normally submitted to the certification body or the trademark service for approval, and approval is given for a specific layout. Changing the logo size, position, colour or surrounding text afterwards invalidates that approval. Build the approval step into the artwork schedule rather than the print schedule – it is a review, not a formality.
What are the most common artwork mistakes? Stretching the logo out of proportion, changing its colour, placing it on a busy background where it loses contrast, omitting the licence code, using the wrong variant, and translating the accompanying statement incorrectly. Each is visible to an auditor and each has caused repacks. Keeping the logo at the specified proportions with clear space around it avoids most of them.
Can the logo appear on the shipping carton as well as the retail pack? It can, under the same rules, provided the carton’s material qualifies. What is not permitted is implying that the whole pack – including components that are not certified – carries the claim. Where a pack combines certified board with a non-certified insert or window film, the label must be worded so the scope is accurate.
What about text claims next to the logo? On-product claims are prescribed. Wording such as “printed on FSC-certified board” is not simply a sentence you write; the accompanying statement must follow the trademark standard’s required phrasing. Off-product claims in marketing material follow a different, looser set of rules – the distinction trips up brands that reuse pack copy on a website.
How does FSC interact with other green claims on the same pack? They stack, and each carries its own rules. Recyclability statements, recycled content percentages and “eco” language all have their own constraints, and a pack covered in marks invites scrutiny. The interaction between labels is covered in the recycling symbols and claims guide, and the certification landscape more broadly in the eco certification FAQ.
What documentation should I keep? The certificate itself, the trademark licence if you hold one, the approval for each printed layout, and supplier invoices or delivery documents linking the material used to certified sources. Auditors ask for the trail, not just the certificate, and reconstructing it a year later is painful – which is why the certification FAQ treats paperwork as part of the product.
Does using certified board make the whole box certified? No. Certification follows the material through a chain of custody; glue, ink, coatings and non-certified components sit outside it. If the claim on pack implies the entire article is certified when only the board is, that is a claim accuracy problem independent of the logo rules.
If you need the FSC label printed on a pack, send the approved artwork and the licence code with the order – we will print to the approved layout and flag anything that looks like it would fail a review. Start on the quote request page.
Chengtop produces cajas plegables, rigid boxes and corrugated cases at our plant in Wuhan and prints certification marks to supplied artwork and codes. Message us with the label variant and code and we will confirm what we need to print it correctly.
