Today, the environment and the impact we are having on it as human beings is on everyone's mind. It seems as though everywhere you look, there are new studies showing that we are seriously limiting the capacity of our planet to support all its forms of life, including ourselves. Due to the increased concern of the planet's population in recent years over issues such a global warming and general deforestation, more people than ever are wondering what they can do to ensure that Earth is around and able to support life a century from now.

One way in which everyone can help out is to use products that come from environmentally conscious companies. There are many organizations out there that monitor the impact that individual companies have on the environment, and promote or campaign against products accordingly.

Paper

One of the main concerns about the environment these days is the rapid depletion of the world's forests, and one of the main reasons why bad forest management is happening is the production of paper. Every single one of us probably uses around ten pounds of paper every year, at the very least. The weight will go up according to your occupation of course, and one can only imagine how much paper is used every year nationally. All of this paper comes from trees at some stage, and trees are the concern of the FSC.

The FSC

FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council. This organization was formed in 1993. It is non-profit and the goal of the FSC is the promotion of the responsible management of the world's forests, including the monitoring of logging activities and the products that are the result of these activities, including paper.

FSC certified paper

FSC supports recycling, but the main goal of the organization is the sustainable management of the world's forests. This means that they monitor pulp companies to ensure that the product they use to manufacture their paper comes from forests that are managed so that they protect wildlife habitat and respect local cultures.

In other words, FSC approved does not actually mean recycled. Instead, it is first time usage paper that comes from a reliable company, which has passed the strict standards of the FSC when it comes to sustainable environmental management.

If you are concerned about ensuring that the paper you use was created in such a way as to leave a minimal global footprint, then look for paper products with the FSC letters and symbol (a check mark and tree). This is a guarantee that the paper was created with sustainability at the forefront.