PIA / PPI Continue to Work To Reduce Growing FSC Costs for Member Companies

2/19/10 -- Discussions continue with FSC

FROM Printing Industries of America -- In support of our proposal to eliminate or increase the sales cap for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-US Group Certification program, we have continued our dialogue with FSC, submitting another letter last week.

In October 2009, FSC-US issued a proposal for a $5 million sales cap under their Group Chain of Custody program. While the initial proposal of no sales cap was not well received, FSC-US did indicate that an increase in the cap might be possible if supported by industry statistics. In our February 12 letter, the request to not have a sales cap was reiterated, but an option to increase the sales cap to a $15 million sales threshold was included. The letter again reiterated the growing resentment of the FSC program and included specific printing industry statistics in terms of business size, sales, and profitability.

PPI continues to talk with certifying companies to create a group certification program on a regional level. When FSC comes to a decision on a "sales cap", PPI hopes to offer even deeper discounts for member companies.