Price premiums for certified wood products in Japan: A case study on cutting boards made of Japanese Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa)

Forest certification is slowly but steadily expanding in Japan, with the total area of certified forest being around 2.5 million ha or 10% of all forestland. However, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) products are still uncommon because few companies undertake CoC (Chain of Custody) certification. We conducted experimental sales of FSC certified and non-certified cutting boards with different designs and sizes made of Hinoki or Japanese Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) on an internet shopping website. We prepared the same products from FSC certified and non-certified wood and sold them simultaneously at different prices. Customers interested in purchasing cutting boards could choose either and were aware of the prices. The largest cutting board was 460 mm × 240 mm × 30 mm, with the basic price of JPY 3,600, and the smallest was 200 mm × 200 mm × 25 mm, with the basic price of JPY 2,950. We considered four price difference levels, between 20% and 50%, for a period of around six months. In total, 22% of customers chose certified products at a 20% price premium, 14% chose a certified product at a 30% price premium, 10% chose a certified product at a 40% price premium, and 10% chose a certified product at a 50% price premium. All price premiums were found to be statistically significant. Therefore, price premiums for FSC certified products are feasible up to 50% for small wood products such as cutting boards. These findings can help forest owners and the wood industry consider the potential of forest certification.