PART 3: WHAT TYPES OF LABELS ARE THERE?

The ideology of ecolabeling is easier to understand through some actual examples.

This video give a few examples of different types of ecolabeling schemes. Notice that if you want to see the video with subtitles, you can click the subtitle button on the down-right corner of the video.

What are Ecolabels?

Here are a few examples to help understand the versatilityof ecolabeling schemes. Please study these in more detail on each label website

UTZ

“Our mission is to create a world where sustainable farming is the norm. Sustainable farming helps farmers, workers and their families to fulfil their ambitions and contributes to safeguard the world’s resources, now and in the future.” – UTZ website

Those of you who enjoy chocolate or coffee have probably seen the UTZlogo on packages. The UTZ system calls for regular checks of the farmers from independent auditorsto ensure the compliance of the codes. There are also regular self assessments.

The UTZ website at https://utz.org/

Energy Star

“ENERGY STAR®is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions.” – Energy Star website

The Energy Star label is an example of a single-attribute label. It was developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency introduced as a voluntary partnership programme offering information to consumers and businesses about energy-efficient practices.

The Energy Star website at https://www.energystar.gov/

FSC Forest Stewardship Council

“FSC labels can be found on millions of products around the world. What does the label mean? Simply put:by choosing products with FSC labels, you are helping to take care of the world’s forests.” – FSC website

It provides certification of sustainability of forestry. These labels can be found on wooden furniture or a range of wood based products, like paper and cardboard.

The FSC website at https://www.fsc.org/en

Task: Look around your house, to see what types of different eco-labeling labels you’ll find and then to find out what they really stand for. Give at least one example you find from your home or any other thoughts that come to your mind.

Share your thoughts as a public comment and feel free to reply to others and engage yourself in conversations.