Increasing distrust in eco-labels

A recent study by TerraChoice revealed that 98 percent of products with an eco-label are not as green as their manufacturers claim. The researchers first drew up seven different sins of greenwashing, and tested whether the products were guilty to one of these sins or not. Apparently, only a disappointing 2 percent passed the test successfully and are therefore not misleading consumers. Kids toys, baby products, cosmetics and cleaning products proved to be the most deceptive categories of products.

This result is not as surprising as it looks: as more than 85 % of consumers consider the health and environmental impact of products when shopping, it is rational for companies to jump on the green bandwagon in order to increase sales. Furthermore, the results of the study should be relativized because the criterions used by TerraChoice were so severe that even well-intentioned companies failed.

This study shows that –as already mentioned in previous blogs- customers have to be really careful when purchasing products with a green label and also need to inform themselves before buying an ecological product.

(source 1, source 2)

Famke De Ro

Lower Prices For Ecolabel Wines

Wines, costing $25 of more, with an ecolabel are on average 7% cheaper, then before they had an ecolabel. Cheaper wines don’t have an impact from ecolabels. Wines made from organic grown grapes, who don't have an ecolabel are 13% more expensive then similar wines who aren’t made from organic grown grapes. But only a third of the vintners advertise their organically grown grapes, because for some reason costumers don’t like wines with organically grown grapes. However this hasn’t stopped wine grape growers from using sustainable agricultural methods.

I think it's a strange thing, because you would expect that prices go up if they had an ecolabel, because of the extra efforts the producers did in the production process. That this is just the case with the high class wines is also strange, apparently rich people really want wines treated the old fashion way, even if it's no good for the environment.

Bert De Rycke

http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/03/11/retail-ring-lower-for-eco-labelled-wines/

A new eco-labeling strategy

 

Although the current eco-labeling system is already achieving  positive environmental effects, a new study showed that a basic change in the system could make it even more efficient. So far, eco-labels have always been expressed in a positive way: they emphasize that marketed products are better than other similar products with regard to environmental impact. Since this method of labeling only convinces individuals who already had a strong interest in ecological issues to buy eco-labeled alternatives, it might be a good idea to introduce a labeling system containing also neutral or negative labels. Products with a negative label would indicate negative environmental outcomes and would –contrary to the positive labeling strategy- be able to persuade both people who feel  a strong commitment towards the environment and people with only an intermediate interest  in environmental issues. But because eco-labeling implies an extra cost for the producers, and no producer would voluntarily pay for their products to be negatively labeled, a regulation that requires a label for every single product should be established.

(source)

Famke De Ro

The little green lies

Green certifications, also known as eco-labels, control if a product meets specific standards concerning the environment. Each green certification has its own criteria, therefore it is very difficult for customers to know exactly what the trademark and symbols stand for. Another stumbling block is that a green certification does not provide any information about a product’s sustainability or quality. It is advisable to look beyond those certifications when evaluating the environmental impact of a product.

Nowadays manufacturers often use green certifications because they understand that green is the new gold and therefore they put the emphasis on the greenness of their product, which causes us to question whether environmental claims are actually true. This phenomenon is called ‘greenwashing’.  Customers have to watch out for the ‘little green lies’, like the phrase “environmentally friendly”.

Some specifications
There are three different types of certifications. The first one is ‘single-attribute certification’ and it has only one criterion: emissions or energy consumption. The second is ‘multiple-attribute certification’. Those products have several characteristics. The last type of certification is the ‘life cycle-based certification’.

There are three norms which every standard must meet. The standard should be open and transparent so purchasers know what the specific criteria stand for. It should also be objective and should have a strong foundation of environmental science. The standard should be stringent enough so that only the best products can acquire the certification.   (Source)

Ellen De Medts

Categorization of ecolabels

By using wildlife friendly ecolabels, manufacturers claim their products to be beneficial for the environment. Researchers develop some tools in order to obtain a clear view and a sound judgment into ecolabels. Their framework distinguishes three categories based on their ecological effect. The supportive category only mentions the revenue percentage the company donates to the environmental protection associations. In fact these labels don't tell anything about the ecological impact of the commodity itself. The persuasive ecolabel requires production methods limiting the damage to fauna and flora. Of course, this commitment has more effect on the environment's protection than the first one. Researchers still stress that the latter category doesn't assess anything about the wildlife conservation. The protective ecolabels are doing better. They verify whether their measures enhance the wildlife population growth and the coexistence between mankind and its nature.
This classification clarifies the meaning and the ecological impact of ecolabels. By using this categorization people will be able to select products that contribute to the conservation of wildlife.

source

Julie Demasure

The Ecolabel exaggerated

The European Ecolabel stems from the idea of encouraging businesses to launch products and services that are less harmful to the environment. Those products and services are mostly very expensive  and are often bought by people who want to clear their conscience.

Which?, a product-testing non-profit organization, composed a panel of experts who have tested those products that may exaggerate their claims of being ‘ecological’.

This panel found no convincing evidence to show that products of the Belgian Ecover, the Green Force, Tesco, etc. are ‘greener’ (read: ‘cleaner’) than products of other market leaders. Therefore Which? questioned the "greenness" of several products.

Ecolabels protested the findings of the survey.  (The Independent)

Ellen De Medts

Eco-Labels: Do They Really Matter

Today you'll find a wide variety of labels on almost every product. But it does seem to persuade customers to buy the product instead of a more cheaper one. There is often a great difference between the standards used by the different labels, every product can obtain a label even with the weakest environmental efforts. The vast variety of labels is confusing the consumer because they don't know what every label stands for. That confusion is a threat to all labels, it's possible that the consumer will forget about the labels and go for the cheapest product.

They have a point here I think, there are way to much labels, it's really confusing. for example, on the picture you have 7 different logo's, I’ve already met label 1,2 and 7. But I only know the meaning of label 1.
I also agree with the article about the responsibility labels have to the consumers. We trust that they are put on the right products for the right reasons. If that's not the case and some labels don't represent any form of effort for the environment, we might as well go for the cheaper products, because we don't know who's fooling us en who isn't.


http://www.fastcompany.com/article/eco-labels-do-they-really-matter

Bert De Rycke