FSC Releases Statement on DuChateau

The FSC released a statement on July 25 that “DuChateau had taken the unilateral decision to terminate its trademark license agreement with the Forest Stewardship Council, which also triggered the termination of their FSC chain-of-custody certification, effective July 9, 2018.”

This decision follows FSC’s decision to suspend the trademark license agreement for DuChateau (TT-COC-004905) on May 21, 2018. DuChateau is also trading as B&M Noble Co., Royalton and Comersys, LLC, Comfortably Numb LLC, and Houses of the Holy LLC.

FSC suspended DuChateau’s trademark license agreement after an investigation by Accreditation Services International (ASI) concluded that FSC claims made on flooring sold as FSC 100% certified by DuChateau were not valid. Their supplier, Zhejiang Yuhua Timber Co., Ltd. (DNV-COC-00030), also had their FSC certificate terminated.

The statement continued, “Because DuChateau chose to leave the FSC system rather than correct the nonconformity raised against them by their certification body, FSC has decided to block DuChateau from certification for the foreseeable future. That means that no certification body can grant them an FSC certificate of any kind. Their supplier, who left the system rather than correct major nonconformities, is also blocked from certification. Companies that do not, in good faith, follow the requirements of the FSC system will find themselves increasingly under scrutiny by FSC and ASI as the system investigates and takes action on non-conforming products and false claims.”

“DuChâteau sent notice to terminate our FSC certification on July 5, 2018. Sustainability has been, and remains, a core value of DuChâteau. As unfortunate as this decision was, we view this as an opportunity to review and strengthen our own internal compliance and environmental procedures. To ensure we will continue to be a leader in our industry, we want to take the time and due diligence required to implement best-in-class solutions. We look forward to sharing some of the programs in development later this year,” said Benjamin Buzali, DuChâteau’s president.

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