Greenwashing is a deceptive practice where businesses make unsubstantiated claims, omit critical information, or obscure the truth about their environmental practices. 

While greenwashing may appear to be a harmless marketing tactic, it has serious consequences. It lowers a customer's ability to make informed choices and puts a company’s reputation at risk. It threatens real progress on sustainability issues, not only through false claims on the market. The fear of greenwashing can prevent communication and positive ripple effects of climate action.

New greenwashing report

Protecting FSC-certified companies against greenwashing

Equally influenced and balanced. FSC’s system is fundamentally balanced. The FSC membership, consisting of 1,000+ organizations, unions, environmental groups, individuals, and companies from 90+ countries, decide our policies. Social, environmental, and economic perspectives carry equal weight. 

Strict, globally aligned standards. FSC standards are developed with input from a balanced set of stakeholders, often through an open, public consultation. Wherever FSC standards are applied in the world, they must conform with a set of holistic, core principles. Learn more about our standardshere.

Independently verified certification. Independent third parties must evaluate companies to award certification and perform annual audits to confirm that the requirements set out in the standards are met.

ISEAL Code Compliance. FSC is the only forest certification system that isISEAL code compliant. ISEAL is the global association for voluntary sustainability standards, and FSC’s adherence to the code means our forestry standards are developed transparently, based on principles that set global best practices.

Assuring credible claims about FSC products and materials

Certified and non-certified materials separated. FSC-certified companies must separate FSC-certified materials from non-certified material. They are audited by independent verifiers annually to confirm that uncertified materials are not sold as FSC.

Logo and trademark usage authorized. FSC requires prior authorization or approval of every communication or claim featuring FSC. This ensures that companies using the FSC logo or communicating about FSC performed the required checks and verifications and are held accountable as needed. 

Transparent labelling. FSC on-product labels include information about the FSC claim, the certified material, and the certificate holder. This helps consumers verify what they are buying. New innovations likeFSC Trace will help companies trace the product or material back to the source.

Misuse can be reported. Anyone, whether a company or a member of the public, can report suspicion of logo misuse.

Violators expelled

Our Policy for Association (PfA) uniquely allows us to identify and expel organizations engaged in harmful activities, even outside of certified areas.

Misuse investigated

We thoroughly investigate instances of logo misuse. This investigation and reporting process involves collaboration with our accreditation partners and certification bodies, and use of the logo is revoked if necessary. 

FSC strongly supports worldwide legislations and initiatives aimed at fighting greenwashing, with a shared goal of ensuring environmental claims and communications do not mislead consumers and supports licence holders to continue communicating about FSC credibly.

Together with global NGOs, we are engaging with key global initiatives to advance transparent communications. Legislations, while most pressing in Europe, are formalizing a global urgency for robust legal measures to prevent misleading environmental claims

Empowering Consumers Directive

This Directive sets requirements for sustainability labels. It is already adopted, and it will enter into effect as of September 2026. FSC certificate holders are already in a strong position. At the same time, we are actively reviewing its system’s alignment with the requirements set in this Directive. 

The ongoing revision of the Trademark Standard (FSC-STD-50-001), which sets the rules for trademark usage for certificate holders, is an example of the work we are doing to increase transparency and improve consumer access to information. 

For instance, it will provide claims that FSC-certified companies can use with confidence, and which provide consumers with the required substantiations. 

Green Claims Directive

This initiative aims to prevent misleading environmental labels or claims by establishing a pre-approval mechanism for sustainability labels. It is currently under negotiations among the EU Institutions andwe believe a compromise is still within reach. 

FSC has been engaged on this Directive since its onset. We are monitoring and actively engaging with EU decision-makers working on the file, with the goal of raising the bar for environmental claims and ensuring the provisions will work in practice. FSC's advocacy work is conducted as part of theISEAL alliance.

Once - and if - the final text of the Green Claims Directive is published, we will conduct a detailed, third-party analysis to understand how our system aligns with the Directive. 

FSC shares the global goal of ensuring that environmental claims and communications do not mislead consumers and lead to purchasing decisions that drive real environmental impact. We encourage credible communications that empower consumers to make impactful purchasing decisions, and we are here to support companies that are ready to commit to transparent marketing. 

Echoingthe call from UN Secretary-General António Guterres—“We must have zero tolerance for net-zero greenwashing”—FSC reinforces its commitment to transparency, accountability, and consumer trust in sustainability markets.

Tools and support from FSC

• News: FSCstands with the EU Green Claims Directive
• Article: Our extensivearticle on greenwashing provides further background reading.
• Podcast: Greenwashing and FSC: Is there a limit to what you can say?
• Resource: FSC contributed toGood Practice: Ecolabels and Sustainable Public Procurement. Read ithere.
• Webinar: Listen to our interview (in Spanish) atthis webinar