progress packaging: FSC certification

The FSC^®label

FSC® stands for "Forest Stewardship Council®" and stands for environmentally friendly, socially acceptable and economically viable forest management. Ten globally valid principles guarantee that wood and paper products with the FSC® seal originate from responsibly managed forests. These principles are laid down in an international standard.

The FSC® standard defines that the ecological functions of a forest must be preserved, it protects endangered animal and plant species and secures the rights of native inhabitants and employees. However, the idea that an FSC®-certified forest is completely unspoiled is not true. It is a forest that is managed, but under strict principles and criteria that can preserve the forest as an ecosystem in the long term.

Environmentally friendly due to rotting

In the Pacific, between the USA and China, there is the largest man-made island. It now covers an area of 1.3 million square kilometers, 3.7 times the size of Germany. Unfortunately, it consists entirely of plastic waste that decomposes very slowly. Due to the wave movement and the effect of UV light, plastic waste is only shredded. Sea animals absorb these particles as food and sometimes die in torture. Due to this fact and the sad certainty that there are other floating rubbish dumps in the oceans, one can say: "In practice, plastic has proven to be very difficult to use".

Cardboard, on the other hand, is disposed of through responsible recycling. The raw material cardboard disintegrates very quickly compared to plastic. While a plastic bag takes 120 years to decompose, paper has sometimes become fertiliser in 1 to 3 years.

Recycled paper is an advantage

Paper has been recycled for decades and in Europe the special waste paper economic cycles are already very advanced. In addition, the industry has established itself with highly developed recycling methods in order to get by with a minimum of fresh water. For example, the production of recycled paper consumes two thirds less energy and water. Above all, however, recycling means protecting the natural resource of wood.

The recycled cardboard used by Progress Packaging comes 100% from the waste paper industry. As the majority of our products are made from raw cardboard, the optical brightening of the material by chemicals is also eliminated, thus ensuring the best possible ecological balance for Progress Packaging.