Buying products and services with environmental labels
An environmental label indicates that a product or service is produced with less impact on the environment. Environmental labels, or green labels, can help you make informed choices about the products or services you buy.
Not all labelling schemes set the same standards or use an independent process to verify that their standards are met. For example, a product or service with an ecolabel - a type of environmental label - must meet certain environmental standards.
Some labels only focus on one environmental aspect - for example the Energy Star labelling scheme for energy efficiency. Others, like ecolabels, consider the life cycle impacts of a product or service, including the materials and resources used, and the waste created to make, use and dispose of it.
What environmental labels cover
The focus of an environmental label could be on, among others:
- protecting natural resources or habitats
- minimising energy consumption during manufacture or use
- a product's agricultural impact
- a product or service's ethical impact.
Examples of the range of themes of environmental labels, and products and services covered include:
- for recycling and packaging - for example the mobius loop (or packaging recycling logo) on plastic materials. See Recycle Now: Understanding recycling symbols for the meaning of many recycling labels.
- on the energy efficiency of products - see Energylabel.org.uk: UK energy efficiency labels
- for vehicles - the UK fuel economy label
- for product-specific aspects - such as the low volatile organic compounds labels on paint. See for example: Ecolabels and Quality Labels for low VOC emitting products
- for food - such as the Marine Stewardship Council blue label, the Red Tractor logos and the Fairtrade marks
- regarding organic standards - for example the Soil Association symbol and the EU Organic logo
- for timber products - such as the Forest Stewardship Council labels, and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes label
- for consumer products - such as Fairtrade marks, Rainforest Alliance label, EU Ecolabel.
Labels’ environmental standards
To help you identify if a label is acceptable for your requirements, you should check the:
- standard environmental criteria, e.g. criteria based on life cycle environmental assessment will look at multiple environmental issues and help you identify products and services that will be less harmful to the environment.
- certification and audit methods, e.g. an independent and regular process for monitoring compliance against the standard criteria
- origins of the label, e.g. government schemes may provide you with greater confidence.
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) describes three types of system for environmental labelling. Unlike some other green labels or claim statements, only ISO Type I labels, e.g. the EU Ecolabel, certify that a product or service meets a strict environmental standard based on life cycle assessment. The standard is set and monitored by an independent process.
International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO): Environmental labels
Check which environmental labels are appropriate for you
Before you buy a product or service you should check the claims made by its environmental label.
Buy products or services which use a label with appropriate environmental standards and that is awarded by an independent body, for example from an ISO Type I labelling scheme.
Environmental labels lists
- A full list of recycling packaging labels can be found on the Resource Efficient Scotland website at: Zero Waste Scotland: Recycling packaging symbols
- Global Ecolabelling Network: ISO Type 1 labels
- EUROPA: EU Ecolabels catalogue