Promote your sustainable material

If you are sourcing PEFC-certified products, you need to tell your customers about it! You can do this through the PEFC label. As a brand owner or retailer, there are several options for how you can use the PEFC label.

With the publication of our 2020 standards, we made it easier for brands and retailers to use our PEFC label to promote their procurement and sale of PEFC-certified products. 

With our previous standard, if you wanted to highlight your products were PEFC certified, you needed to include the PEFC licence number of each individual supplier. With the 2020 standards, this is no longer necessary. See the next section to see how you can do this!

Highlighting your certified products

If you procure PEFC-certified finished products and sell these finished products directly to consumers, without manipulating them in any way, you can use the PEFC label indirectly on‑product for promotional purposes. To do so, you simply need to hold a PEFC trademarks usage licence for Group D users (see how to get this at the bottom of the page).

This is designed to help you make it easy for your customers to identify your PEFC-certified products within catalogues, brochures and prices lists (digital or paper based). You need to clearly place an off-product label with the message “The products marked with the PEFC trademarks can be provided as PEFC certified” and then can put the PEFC label next to all your PEFC-certified products.

The aim of this process is to make it easier for you as a retailer to demonstrate to your customers which of your products are PEFC certified, without needing to use the specific licence number of every supplier. To find out exactly how you can use the PEFC trademarks in this way, see clause 6.3.4.4 of the PEFC Trademarks standard.

Promoting your responsible sourcing

You can use the PEFC off-product label to enhance your communication about your responsible sourcing, including on your website, annual and CSR reports, marketing materials, catalogues and brochures and in-store materials. It's important to note, that this label cannot be used to claim that products are certified.

To help promote your sale of PEFC-certified products to your customers, you have a range of off-product label messages to choose from:

• Promoting Sustainable Forest Management
• [Company name] offers PEFC certified products
• By sourcing PEFC, [we/company name] are/is supporting sustainably managed forests globally
• By sourcing PEFC [wood/paper/packaging/products], [we/company name] are/is supporting sustainably managed forests globally
• The PEFC logo on our products ensures that our [wood/paper/packaging/products] comes/come from sustainably managed forests, recycled and controlled sources. Every purchase of a PEFC-labelled product makes a difference for forests and forest communities across the world.

You can also use these messages without the label, under the same requirements. When using them, you must either have the PEFC label close to the message, or put your trademarks licence number next to the message.

Putting the PEFC label on your products

If want to use the PEFC trademarks on products you are producing under your brand, you need to be PEFC certified in order to ensure they comply with the PEFC requirements. 

If your products are produced by third parties, then your suppliers need to be PEFC certified and label the finished products with their PEFC trademarks licence number.

Only PEFC certified companies can use the PEFC trademarks directly on-product. For more information, please check the PEFC label and how to get certified sections of our website or contact us at technical@pefc.org.

Accessing the labels

You can create off-product labels using the PEFC Label Generator. Your account will automatically give you the label messages suitable for your business. You can also give your designers access to your Label Generator account, so they can directly download the labels to use within your promotional materials, catalogues, etc. 

To get access to the Label Generator you need to get a PEFC trademarks usage licence by signing a PEFC trademarks usage contract. If you already have a trademarks usage licence, you may need to sign a new contract, or accept an amendment to your current contract. But don’t worry, your PEFC trademarks licence number won’t change.