Approved at the end of September, the introduction of the new standards follows a comprehensive three-year review by the FSC.

The standards are designed to ensure that, in addition to tracking FSC-certified sources, any uncertified material in labelled product will come from controlled sources.

Most printers would be unaffected by the new standards according to FSC marketing manager Nick Cliffe.

"Most printers who buy FSC stock will be able to use the FSC mark under the new standards," he said. Manufacturers that currently hold chain of custody certificates, such as pulp and paper mills, will be required to comply with the new standards by 2007.

Cliffe said blockages in the chain of custody system had previously meant that companies producing high percentages of FSC-certified material could only label a small percentage of the final product. As a result, companies  that failed to reach the 70% threshold figure were unable to be accredited.

Now, the remainder can be made up of recycled content from sustainably managed sources.

"It will increase awareness and make manufacturers who are not certified sit up and think," said Arctic Paper UK managing director Simon Ricketts. The chain of custody review saw input from five technical working groups, and pilot tests by 31 companies in seven countries.

Story by Andy Scott