The Muddy World of Eco-Labeling

There was general agreement at the recent Sustainable Brands conference in Miami that eco-labels and certification programs are a mess. Granted, the answers are not simply green or brown. With so many factors to account for in evaluating sustainability, labels addressing limited attributes tend to proliferate and there is incentive for brands to choose just one side of the debate. Multiple NGOs, industry groups, governments, and individual companies expand the list further, creating a confusing landscape for consumers, and a nightmare for manufacturers trying to comply with the fine print (or, as is too often the case, just giving up).

There were calls (far from unanimous) for government leadership in defining and summarizing relevant environmental measures with a view to capturing the positive and negative, perhaps something along the lines of nutritional labels on foods.

A new site by start-up Big Room is a step in the right direction. They are bravely taking on the challenge of listing the eco-labels out there and providing as much background information as possible, as much as reluctant labelers make available, anyhow--308 and counting!
Read the full story here.

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Comments

[Left Brain]

As the co-owner of Write Hook, an environmentally conscious greeting card business where custmers can create custom cards, I find the logos very helpful. Write Hook uses 100% post-consumer recycled paper and all greeting cards are FSC certified. As a new business, the FSC certification logo is what helps us bring credibility to our product and communicates to our customers that being environmentally responsible is one of our top priorities. Without a logo system, how would a customer know this and be able to easily identify products that make environmental responsibility a priority?

For more information about Write Hook's paper and FSC certification please visit www.writehook.com/green

[Greenguy25]

Enviromental Management in business, regardless of how or who, is a step in the right direction. We welcome all the players in the eco-labeling field existing and even those not yet conceived.

http://www.greensceneems.com

[localgreen]

Many of the labels have nothing but GOOD intentions, but consumers do need to be savvy and learn about what's really the motivation behind the labels. Thanks for providing some of this information.

I am introducing a new label - I call it the Gold Green Standard of green shopping. Ecobly.com qualifies companies that make products in the US with mostly local ingredients. Many of the companies have come up with creative ways to reclaim wood, juice pouches, old billboards - you name it - to make cool stuff we need every day. I encourage people to use the website to find products made near their home - see if they can buy handbags, paper, toys, etc made locally instead of imported. This lowers the carbon footprint and "recycles" money back into our small businesses and communities.

Please check out www.ecobly.com!

[LITNUP]

$$$$$$$$$$­$$$$$$$$$$­$$ and no redeeming value as is Gang Green