A manufacturer in Asia and a wholesaler in Europe are the first to have their Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certificates suspended following a trademark crackdown.

FSC launched its campaign to prevent fraudulent and misleading use of its trademark in the run up to the European garden furniture season and its first success has prevented a consignment of 2,000 incorrectly labelled products being sold as FSC certified.

FSC head of marketing and communication, Michael Spencer, said: “We hope this case sends a strong message to others who may be attempting or contemplating a “free ride” on the FSC trademark.

“People cheating the system are risking their businesses and the businesses of their customers. We will do everything we can to catch them and deal with them through the FSC process.”

He also warned that people selling material which they know to be mislabelled risk action for damages from their customers, action for misleading and deceptive conduct, prosecution under the fair trading laws in different countries or damage to their reputation from public exposure.

&#8220People cheating the FSC system are risking their businesses and the businesses of their customers. We will do everything we can to catch them ”

Michael Spencer, FSC head of marketing and communication

FSC’s “Trademark Integrity Special Project” which was unveiled in January, has the backing of leading garden furniture retailers and producers.