Take a look at this article for a good review of the pitfalls of the proliferation of green labels. We sometimes like to believe we live in the land of plenty and that more choice is better. We have supermarket shelves loaded with 20 different granolas and 30+ different flake cereals and then the yogurt shelves with dozens of brands of the "best" available. Conscious consumers are then faced with the daunting task of weeding through the company labeling as well the the third party certification labeling that each package displays. What to do?!?!?The article does present the argument that eco-labels may be reaching the saturation point (or going beyond) and are actually serving to dilute truth in advertising as more folks clamor for green products. For example, from the article:
Scot Case, executive director of EcoLogo program and vice president of environmental marketing agency TerraChoice, says the hundreds of eco-labels currently available are wreaking havoc by breeding consumer confusion.
Additionally:
A project of Vancouver, B.C.–based startup Big Room Inc., ecolabelling.org was launched in 2008 to respond to a swarm of labels making their way into the marketplace. “We saw that there was a huge move to ‘green’ business and ‘green’ purchasing,” Bowden says. “A lot of claims started being made. … We saw a gap emerging between perceived and actual ‘green.’”
Clearly, there is a great deal of competition to see which label(s) win out. We believe that YOU, the consumer should play the pivotal role in determining which labels remain and which get tossed into the recycle bin. Demand transparency and due diligence in your trusted labelers and support only those which prove they are green through and through!!
Tell us what you would expect to see from an eco-labeler to ensure they are trustworthy!
No comments:
Post a Comment