Circulate products and materials Principles behind circular economy and how FSC contributes Visit main circularity page → A circular economy depends on keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible – and at their highest value. This starts with design. Products need to be made to last, to be repaired, and to be reused or recycled.When this is done well, it reduces waste and lowers the need for new raw materials.For companies, this means making conscious choices about materials and product design. It also means enabling new ways of using products – such as repair, leasing, and take-back – and ensuring that materials can be tracked across the value chain.Circulation is not only about recycling. It is about extending lifecycles, using materials efficiently, and making informed decisions from the start. Core elements of this principle Design for circularity and choose fibres wisely Design products to be durable, repairable, and recyclable. Select appropriate, non-toxic, renewable materials – using the right fibre for the right purpose. Keep products in use Extend product lifetimes through by introducing corporate programmes for reuse, repair, take-back, leasing, and repurposing. Enable material tracking and data sharing Establish systems that allow materials to be traced across value chains. Share relevant data with partners to ensure transparency and accountability. Enable circular consumer behaviour Support customers in using products responsibly by providing guidance on maintenance, repair and end-of-life handling. FSC’s contribution today Enable material tracking and data sharingFSC provides a strong foundation for traceability through our FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) Certification. This ensures that materials are tracked, documented, and verified across the value chain. FSC also supports the use of recycled and reclaimed materials through FSC Recycled and FSC Mix. This allows materials from previous use cycles to re-enter supply chains in a controlled and credible way. FSC Trace, a blockchain powered platform, further strengthens this by enabling secure, end-to-end tracking of supply chain data. Companies can share information with partners while maintaining control of their data.Together, these systems support transparency, strengthen circular material flows, and help companies meet increasing regulatory requirements. Enable circular consumer behaviourFSC labels enables consumers and buyers to identify products that come from responsibly managed forests or include recycled materials. This helps connect everyday choices to responsible sourcing and circular material use.Read more about FSC labelling options © FSC Denmark / iStock Expanding FSC’s Contribution Building on FSC’s existing contribution, the FSC Circularity Hub see opportunities to support circular product design and business models through new solutions, including voluntary tools and measures that help companies design for circularity, optimise fibre use, and integrate circular business models.Proposed solution: Enable leasing and take-back modelsFSC is exploring how leasing and take-back can be integrated into the Chain of Custody (CoC) standard. This would allow companies to recollect FSC-certified products, repair with eligible inputs where needed, and reintroduce products to the market with their FSC claim intact. This supports business models such as rental, product-as-a-service, and long-term product ownership, where products remain in circulation for longer. The ongoing revision of the FSC Chain of Custody standard introduces options for take-back, repair, and leasing, enabling FSC to support circular business models through defined requirements for how these activities are implemented, documented, and verified. Read more about the proposed changes in the FSC Chain of Custody standard revision process. Proposed Solution: Introduction of FSC certification for reused productsRecycling and reuse are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same. Recycling breaks a product down so the material can be processed and used again. Reuse keeps the product largely in its existing form and function, allowing it to return to the market with minimal intervention. FSC already enables recycling through FSC Recycled and FSC Mix. However, the system does not currently provide a dedicated pathway for reuse – even though reuse can keep products and materials at a higher value for longer and reduce demand for virgin inputs more effectively than recycling alone.To support companies in extending product lifecycles, the FSC Circularity Hub proposes developing a framework for reused products within the FSC system. This would involve introducing requirements in the FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) standard that allow companies to source used FSC-certified products – and, under defined conditions, certain non-certified post-consumer products – and reintroduce them to the market with an FSC Reused claim. The approach would build on the logic of FSC Recycled, while adding safeguards such as defined product categories, minimum use-cycle criteria, documentation requirements, and verification procedures to prevent misuse and protect system integrity. By creating a credible and differentiated claim for reuse, FSC could help companies and consumers support longer product lifecycles and strengthen circular business models – while maintaining the trust and rigour of the FSC system. Proposed solution: A voluntary self-assessment tool for product lifecycles evaluation For many brands and manufacturers — especially those further down the supply chain — it can be difficult to know where changes in fibre use will have the greatest circular and climate impact. The best choice is not always obvious: should a product be reused, redesigned, made with recycled content, or shifted to a lower-grade fibre?To support better decision-making, the FSC Circularity Hub proposes a voluntary self-assessment tool for product lifecycles. The tool would help companies assess whether their products have the potential for more than one life cycle, are single-use by nature or go directly to energy uses. Based on this, companies would receive guidance on how to improve circular performance – for example by increasing recycled content, enabling reuse or repair, or redesigning products to last longer. This would make it easier to apply cascading principles and prioritise virgin fibre use where it creates the most long-term value. Proposed solution:A voluntary grading framework for optimal fibre specifications: Choosing the right fibre is only part of the challenge. Many companies also need a practical way to communicate fibre improvement ambitions across complex supply chains — especially when they do not know every actor in the chain or cannot disclose commercially sensitive information. The FSC Circularity Hub proposes a voluntary grading framework for optimal fibre specifications, supported by a practical implementation tool. It would help companies match fibre quality and grade to a product’s function and expected lifespan, avoiding the use of high-quality fibres where lower grades could be sufficient. Building on systems such as FSC Trace, the tool could enable structured communication of fibre requirements and improvement requests up and down the value chain in a protected way. Companies could signal what they want to improve - for example lower-grade fibres, recycled inputs, or better alignment with cascading principles - without revealing individual supply chain actors or confidential business relationships. This would create a shared language for fibre optimisation, support more efficient material use, and help companies operationalise cascading principles while reducing unnecessary pressure on virgin forest resources.
