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Buying and selling Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified forest products supports environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economic viable management of the world's forests.

The FSC label enables consumers to choose forest products with the confidence that they are not contributing to the destruction of the world's forests. By buying from certified sources you are providing an incentive for responsible forest management.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) accredited certification has increased swiftly since the first FSC certificate was issued in 1993. In 2006 than 3,000 companies worldwide participate in the FSC certification system, with continuing growth.

To locate companies with sustainable wood supplies, visit the Forest Stewardship Council database of accredited companies. This database is compiled from reports submitted to The Forest Stewardship Council by FSC accredited certification bodies on a monthly basis.

More than 500 forest managers and 2500 producers have demonstrated their committment to responsible forest management by certifying their operations to FSC standards. Forest Management Certification involves an inspection of the forest management unit by an independent organization (Certification Body) to check that it complies with the internationally agreed FSC Principles for Responsible Forest Management and FSC standards.

Two different types of certificates are issued under the FSC system and generally a combination of both certificates is issued to forest enterprises.

• Forest Management Certificates (FM-certificates) are issued to enterprises that meet the FSC approved standards of forest management
• Chain-of-Custody-Certificates (COC-certificates)are issued to both processing and trade companies that handle, label and advertise certified products (or otherwise take ownership of FSC labelled products) according to the COC-standard. This way products made from wood from FSC certified forests can be traced through the market place to the final consumer

I conducted a sample search of Chain of Custody certificate holders (which includes retail sources) in "US" + "plywood" and the search resulted in 7 pages of results. I refined the search to "Maple plywood" and came up with 7 pages. However, when I searched only for "Maple" (plus US), the result was 13 companies.

The California companies listed included complete contact information:

Furniture by Thurston, Grass Valley, CA, www.Furniturebythurston.com
Furniture (dormitory, bedroom fittings, red oak and maple)

Hardwoods Specialty, Livermore, CA,
Distribution of hardwood and softwood lumber....etc.

NOTE to my readers: We provide resource links to help you protect and nurture your natural resources. Tip: when you contact suppliers in person, online, by phone or email...please ask them about alternatives that are sustainable, green, or habitat-healthy. By asking, we advocate for better protection of our natural resources. Thank you, Carolyn.