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New Rainforest Alliance mark for verified companies
10 August 2010
The well-known Rainforest Alliance Certified™ seal is an exclusive seal, reserved for holders of FSC/Rainforest Alliance certification, Rainforest Alliance Rediscovered Wood certification and Sustainable Agricultural Network (SAN) certification only.
Up until recently, no logo was available for participants of other programs developed or offered by the Rainforest Alliance. With the launch of the Rainforest Alliance VerifiedTM mark, this situation has changed radically.
Recognition of progress
The new mark supplements the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal by providing visual recognition for forestry and wood industry enterprises, responsible logging companies, forest carbon projects and tourism enterprises that meet at least one out of nine standards developed by the Rainforest Alliance itself or by other organizations with which the Rainforest Alliance is aligned.
Rainforest Alliance president Tensie Whelan said:
.jpg) “We believe consumers deserve to know which businesses are making long-lasting differences to this planet’s well being. The Rainforest Alliance has thoroughly analyzed and stands strongly behind the standards our new verification mark represents”.
The new mark is available for promotional purposes only and cannot be used for the labeling of products.
Investment in timber legality becomes visible
Among the beneficiaries of this new initiative are companies verified according to the Rainforest Alliance VLO and VLC standards for verification of legality.
These standards are widely recognized and respond to a growing need for companies to provide assurances - to customers, owners, investors and the general public - that answer questions about the legal status of timber sources. Now this assurance may be visually demonstrated by the new verification mark.
DLH, the world’s largest tropical timber trader, is engaged in both the VLO and VLC programs. Peter Kristensen, Vice President of CSR and Environment at DLH, welcomes the launch: “A visual identification mark for our commitment to timber legality has been on our wishing list for a long time. We can now also provide our clients with marketing materials e.g. for display in shops. This way, our clients' legality investments is made visible to their customers”.
 Kristensen is also pleased with the design: “This visually appealing mark provides clear added value on the marketplace based on the visibility and recognition already built around the Rainforest Alliance frog. I am quite impressed with the cleverness of the design! It is immediately recognizable as part of the Rainforest Alliance family of marks, yet sufficiently distinct to avoid confusion with the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal. They also achieved a high degree of ‘truth in labeling’ by mentioning the specific program involved in the text part beside the frog”.
The Rainforest Alliance family of marks
Participants in nine programs offered by the Rainforest Alliance are now entitled to use the new frog mark. Below is an overview of the various programs which are eligible for the Rainforest Alliance Certified Seal and the Verification Mark, respectively.
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| FSC/Rainforest Alliance Forest Management certification |
SmartLogging |
| FSC/Rainforest Alliance Chain-of-Custody certification |
SmartStep Forestry verification |
| Rediscovered Wood certification |
Verification of Legal Origin (VLO) |
| Sustainable Agriculture Network certification |
Verification of Legal Compliance |
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Verification of Defined Source |
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Verification of High Conservation Value Forest |
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Generic Chain-of-Custody certification or verification |
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Carbon project verification to third party standards |
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Verification of sustainable tourism requirements for tourism businesses |
Learn more about the new verification mark
If your organization has enrolled in one of the eligible programs and you would like to hear more about your options for using the new mark, please contact your Rainforest Alliance or NEPCon contact person for graphics, guidance and formal approval.
Source: Press release by the Rainforest Alliance
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