We are committed to sustainable forestry: Three quarters of our wood range complies with the FSC® criteria, and on all our wood products we state the wood types and their respective countries of origin. We also ensure that only recycled paper and cardboard are used for our own-label paper ranges and packaging.
Forests provide a habitat for many animals, absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. However, around 13 million hectares of forest are being lost worldwide every year, so we are committed to sustainable forestry and recycled paper. Forests provide us with valuable raw materials: for example, 40 percent of the timber felled worldwide is processed into paper. Often, however, this leads to overexploitation, or the flouting of social standards. Forests around the world are also under threat from encroaching soya and palm oil plantations.
The FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) seal of approval guarantees environmentally-friendly, socially beneficial and economically viable timber production, enhancing the status of forests as a resource pool and stemming the destruction of forests to make way for agricultural land. In 2003, we co-founded FSC Switzerland and are also a partner in the WWF Global Forest & Trade Network, to promote the FSC quality seal.
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The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) represents the world's highest standards in forest management. Products are only awarded the FSC® quality seal if these standards are fulfilled and full traceability in the timber production value chain is guaranteed.
Three quarters of our wood range complies with the FSC® criteria, rising to 100 percent for Oecoplan wood products. Thanks to Oecoplan, there is always an FSC®-certified or recycled alternative for paper products for the home, kitchen and office. All our milk and drink cartons are also FSC®-certified.
The ten binding FSC® standards:
Customers can always obtain a clear picture of the raw materials contained in a product.
For many years now, we have been labelling the types of wood and wood products available from us as transparently as possible. We go beyond the statutory provisions on declaring wood and wood products that have applied since 2010. This information is shown either on the product itself, the packaging or label, in the online store or, in exceptional cases, on the shelf. We do not include in our range any products that are not certified and that contain tropical or rainforest wood or fibres. Some examples are wood from primary forests or from high conservation value forest areas. Only products made of FSC-certified tropical or rainforest wood are permitted.
As a matter of principle, we disclose the type of wood and country of origin for all our wood products, regardless of whether they are own-label products or branded items. Under Coop Oecoplan, we have for many years been selling paper and toilet paper made from 100 percent recycled fibre, which eliminates the need for new wood in the manufacturing process.
The WWF Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) is an organization of innovative and responsible companies across the world that promote FSC wood. We have been a member of GFTN Switzerland (formerly known as WWF Wood Group) since 2006. Globally, the GFTN has several hundred member companies, which have undertaken to constantly increase the percentage of FSC wood and never to use wood from non-transparent sources.
Another effective measure to combat global deforestation is the use of recycled paper and cardboard. We systematically use these materials in our own-label range as well as our packaging. Using post-consumer paper eliminates the need for new wood in paper production. If the recycled paper is also produced by energy-efficient facilities, the ecological benefits are particularly great compared with paper made from virgin pulp. Therefore, all our Oecoplan paper products are made from recycled paper – including toilet paper, tissues, serviettes and paper towels.
If it is not possible to switch to recycled paper for certain products, we rely solely on FSC-certified pulp for our own-label brands. This rules out overexploitation and ensures that the forest owners comply with tough environmental standards.
The Coop member press newspaper is printed almost entirely on recycled paper, using around 400 tonnes of material each week. Our paper carrier bags are made from 85 percent recycled paper, with the remaining 15 percent consisting of FSC-certified fresh pulp. Our internal paper usage also satisfies the most stringent sustainability requirements. 99.5 percent of paper used within the company is FSC-certified or made from recycled fibres.