Which labels can you trust?

As sustainability credentials become big business and awareness of ‘buying green’ skyrockets, so too does the proliferation of environmental labels – at a quick trawl we counted a dazzling 63 different labels all vying for attention. Faced with the impossible task of finding the credible labels in a sea of greenwash, many consumers simply shrug their shoulders and give up.

After trawling through the plethora of environmental labels out there, Green Ideas resolved to find one simple, reputable eco label that we could confidently recommend to our readers.

Environmental Choice New Zealand (ECNZ) is our pick. The multiple-criteria environmental brand has a broad scope, with its seal on around 2500 products and services covering around 40 product groups (ranging from food to printers and paper products, from building materials to fitness centres).

The eco label is owned and endorsed by the New Zealand Government, though operates as a non-profit charitable trust. Communications adviser Michael Hooper says ECNZ is funded by the annual licensing fee that companies pay each year to keep their ECNZ label, and they pay assessors to carry out their environmental performance audits ensuring their certifying scheme is third party and independent.

ECNZ meets the toughest standards set by the International Organisation for Standardization and is a member of the ISeal Alliance, as well as the Global Eco-labelling Network, a non-profit association of third party, environmental certification and labeling organisations.

In a 2008 study by the British Government looking at over 200 eco labels from around the world ECNZ was cited as a leader in its field for assessment standards and methodology. It was listed alongside Nordic Swan and Forest Stewardship Council, two of the world’s most respected eco labels, as “serving as international best practice standards to which national labeling schemes should be referred.”

New law to mop up the green-wash

Businesses today are prohibited from making false claims and misleading consumers, but currently it is the job of the Commerce Commission to prove that a claim is false.

Under the Consumer Law Reform Bill, however – which has passed its first reading at Parliament with broad support – traders will be required to substantiate any claims they make.

So in the near future, companies making empty green claims may find themselves in a pickle.

In the meantime, we think ECNZ offers a good guide for Kiwi shoppers. And if you’re dubious about another eco label, a good place to start is by asking the following questions: 

1. Is the label internationally recognised?
2. Has it been independently audited?
3. And does it have the scientific backing to show it meets rigorous eco criteria?

Some other NZ labels we think are good

GreenTick: New Zealand-owned and operated, offering independent multiple-criteria sustainability certification across a wide range of products and services.
www.greentick.com

Energy Star New Zealand: A useful guide when buying whiteware, home electronics, heat pumps, office equipment and lighting. Typically awarded to the top 25 per cent most energy-efficient products.
www.energywise.govt.nz

carboNZero: Certifies greenhouse gas footprint measurements and emissions reduction claims, to international standards. Fully Government-owned and established by Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd. www.carbonzero.co.nz

Useful links

www.enviro-choice.org.nz
www.isealalliance.org
www.globalecolabelling.net
www.ecolabelindex.com