Eco-labelling

( Article Type: Explanation )

Eco-labelling is a concept that ensures that products are labelled with information that informs the consumer or the user exactly what ingredients are in the product, whether or not they are ‘environment friendly’ and whether the packaging is bio-degradable or recyclable.
A current example of the importance of eco-labelling can be found by looking at the importance of eco-labelling in genetically modified products. Sound and accurate eco-labelling is important because those who may be allergic to particular products need to know if those products or genetic components of those products are in the food they eat. Eco-labelling would form a part of a company’s environmental management system and would indicate how serious a company is about ensuring that its products and packaging do as little harm as possible to the environment. The South African Bureau of Standards operates an ’environment mark’ in conjunction with its system of agreed and approved standards. The ISO 14000 environmental management series includes two standards, which specifically refer to eco-labelling, namely ISO 14020 and ISO 14021.