The FSC authorizes exclusive use of its label to present a consistent message to consumers. To carry an ecolabel, producers must document that a product originated from a certified forest. Producers may manufacture both certified and non-certified products as long as they can accurately track certified products through the production process. Current rules permit certifying and labeling products with up to 30 percent non-certified fiber. This allows for some flexibility when supplies of certified fiber are limited.
Specific standards exist to encourage pulp recycling.
Currently most of the demand is from industrial and retail companies. However, retail consumer demand is increasing especially in European markets. In Europe, companies are joining together to buy only certified forest products. The most developed of these groups operates in the United Kingdom. It consists of about 80 companies and represents nearly a quarter of the country's wood products demand.