FSC blocks Chinese toilet paper company for making false claims

FSC has blocked Join Bums (Shandong Join Bums Eco Tissues Co. Ltd. - FSC-C159817/SCS-COC-007503), an FSC certificate holder from China, for making false claims regarding the bamboo toilet paper rolls it sold to its clients in the United Kingdom.  

Between May 2021 and March 2024, Join Bums sold large volumes of bamboo toilet paper rolls with FSC 100% claims. However, the company reported zero sales and purchases of FSC-certified material to its certification body since it was granted FSC certification in 2020. Join Bums also waived two surveillance audits in 2021 and 2023.  

Earlier this year, FSC was alerted to a possible integrity risk in its certified bamboo toilet paper supply chain. In March 2024, a British media outlet published an investigative article, alleging that bamboo toilet paper sold by FSC-certified companies contained very little bamboo fiber, despite claims of being 100% bamboo. Tests revealed that the toilet paper rolls contained high amounts of acacia and eucalyptus instead.  

FSC requested its assurance partner, Assurance Services International (ASI), to conduct an investigation into the allegations made by the British media outlet. The investigation confirmed that Bumboo and Bazzo – two FSC-certified toilet paper companies mentioned in the article – sourced their toilet paper rolls from Join Bums. The third FSC certificate holder named in the article, Naked Sprout, does not source their toilet paper rolls from the blocked company. 

Upon determining that Join Bums had deliberately made false claims about its toilet paper rolls, Join Bums’ FSC certificate was suspended. Despite being given an opportunity to conduct a root cause analysis and implement necessary corrective actions, Join Bums stopped cooperating by not responding. As a result, FSC has imposed an 8-year blockage period on Join Bums for making deliberate false claims, in accordance with the provisions of FSC-ADVICE-40-004-18 V2-0 (clause 2.4.2.b). 

For more information about ASI’s investigation, read this article. 

For more information about FSC-ADVICE-40-004-18 V2-0, see page 11 of this document.  

For more information about false claims, click here.