PITCH-IN
CANADA
Resource Centre
PITCH-IN
CANADA
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The Green Shopper Program
Environmental Labelling and Advertising
Claims
Consumers wishing to purchase environmentally acceptable packaged products are often influenced by "green" labelling which implies a benefit to the environment. It is important to understand such environmental labelling in order to reject products whose "green" claims cannot be substantiated.
| General Claims | Environmental claims which are incomplete, misleading or irrelevant should not be used. Claims should be substantiated through credible information and/or test methods and should indicate whether they relate to the product or the packaging material. Vague or general claims such as "environmentally friendly", "ozone friendly" or "green" imply environmental benefits and should not be used. |
| Absolute Claims | An absolute claim leaves no room for doubt. For example, descriptors such as "CFC Free" or "Contains No Phosphates" are absolute in that they claim total absence of a stated substance. These claims must be substantiated. |
| Eco Logos and Environmental "Seals of Approval" | Many governments,
corporations and non-profit groups are setting up and promoting environmental labels and
seals. In Canada, the federal government has its Environmental Choice program
and awards the Eco Logo to products which meet required criteria. The West German government's Blue Angel program has been in existence since 1978, and the Japanese government introduced its Ecomark in 1989. U.S. programs run by the private sector, including Green Cross and Green Seal, also evaluate the environmental suitability of products. Consumers should become knowledgeable about these Logos and Seals of Approvals. |
| Recyclable | The use of the Mobius
Loop recycling symbol is the most abused environmental claim. This symbol should be accompanied by the
word "recyclable" and should indicate whether the claim refers to the package
or the content. A package or packaging material is considered to be "recyclable" if there is a widely available and economically viable collection, processing and marketing system for the product or material. A package claiming to be "recyclable" will not be recycled unless there are readily accessible systems and facilities in place. Consumers need to become aware of recycling programs in their communities. The Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment National Task Force on Packaging requires that for purposes of environmental labelling and advertising, a product/package may only be deemed "recyclable" where at least one-third of the population has convenient access to collection or drop-off facilities for recycling that product. |
| Recycled (Recycled Content) | The use of the Mobius Loop indicates that the
packaging contains recycled content which may originate from industrial, commercial,
institutional and residential sources. The Mobius Loop, when displayed without a
designated specific percentage in the centre of the Loop, is meant to indicate "100%
recycled" content. The number in the centre of the Loop indicates the percentage of recycled content in the product or package. This claim should be accompanied by words indicating that the package or the contents are "recycled" or contain "recycled content". Additional words identify the source of the recycled content - whether it is manufactured scrap or post-consumer material. Example: "This package contains 50% recycled material, including 10% post-consumer material." This information is helpful to consumers wanting to know whether recycled content contains post-consumer materials. The use of post-consumer waste reduces the amount of waste going to landfill or incineration plants. |
| Recycled Content Sources | Manufacturers often indicate the percentage and source
of recycled materials. Post-consumer is considered the most desirable source, followed by post-commercial, and lastly manufacturing scrap/waste.
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