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Green Product Seals Are Gray Area
By Ilana DeBare
San Francisco Chronicle
Saturday 19 April 2008
Arm & Hammer is selling fabric softener sheets that it says are "more
sensible for the environment." Gillette makes cans of shaving gel that
carry a little icon of a globe and promise "no CFCs." Even giant Wal-Mart
has an "Earth friendly" section of its Web site, offering organic
cotton clothing, solar garden lights and energy-efficient appliances.
As Earth Day 2008 arrives on Tuesday, American consumers face a renewed outpouring
of environmental marketing claims - boasts by companies that their products
are everything from "100 percent natural" to "recyclable,"
"eco-friendly," "sustainable," "biodegradable,"
or just plain "green."
Along with these claims has come a new wave of environmental seals and certifications
aimed at helping consumers sort the real from the hype.
Some of these environmental seals of approval - such as the U.S. government's
"organic" label - are well-known and meaningful. But other green seals
of approval are less helpful. Some cover only a few narrow criteria, without
addressing other key environmental points. Others have been developed by industry
groups with a vested interest in boosting their sales. In some product categories,
there are even competing green standards put forward by different organizations.
The result? It can be almost as confusing to sort out the different green seals
of approval as it is to sort out green product claims.
"It's kind of a wild, wild West out there, with this big jump to get on
the green bandwagon," said Urvashi Rangan, a senior scientist with Consumer
Reports.
"There should be a big caution to consumers: Don't base your purchasing
decision on some green dot unless you know what that green dot really means,"
said Scot Case, vice president of TerraChoice Environmental Marketing.
Growing Sector
This isn't America's first flood of environmental marketing. In the 1980s,
companies were making so many misleading and confusing environmental claims
that the Federal Trade Commission drafted a set of green marketing guidelines
that were released in 1992.
Among other things, the FTC wrote that green claims should be specific - for
instance, stating clearly whether the word "recycled" on a box of
paper cups applies to the cups themselves or just their box.
But the FTC did not do much to enforce its own guidelines, according to Case.
And consumer and corporate interest in green products waned - until former Vice
President Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" drew attention
to the threat of climate change in 2006 and sparked a new wave of environmentalism.
Consumer spending on natural foods, vitamins, body care and cleaning products
grew by 28 percent to $22 billion between 2004 and 2006, according to Mintel,
a market research group based in Chicago.
Companies rushed to publicize the green aspects of their existing wares or
to launch new green items. The number of new consumer product launches tracked
by Mintel that involved green claims shot up from five in 2002 to 328 in 2007.
TerraChoice, Case's company, tried to gauge the reliability of all these claims
last November with a survey of about a thousand consumer products that made
a total of 1,753 environmental statements.
The good news was that very few of the products - less than 1 percent - made
outright lies about their environmental benefits.
The bad news was that nearly all the products committed more subtle forms of
what TerraChoice called "greenwashing."
Some products claimed to be green based on one attribute, such as recycled
packaging, without addressing other environmental problems such as toxic ingredients.
Others made claims that were so vague as to be meaningless.
Products touting themselves as natural were a particular problem since, unlike
the term "organic," there is no government definition of the term
"natural" outside of meat and poultry.
"We found some 'natural' products that were petroleum based," Case
said. "I guess they consider petroleum a natural product.... Personally,
I think the term natural has been so watered down it may never have any meaning
again."
"Sustainable" is an even newer marketing buzz word that doesn't have
a hard and fast meaning.
"There are so many components to sustainability - protecting the environment,
water resources, social responsibility and being a good neighbor, and having
good quality and safety," said Linda Brown, executive vice president of
Scientific Certification Systems, an Emeryville company that certifies whether
products meet particular standards.
"Right now, because there is no standard, people can pick any aspect they
want," Brown said, "and consumers don't really know what it means."
No Dominant Standard
Faced with this thicket of confusing claims, many consumers might welcome an
environmental equivalent of the Good Housekeeping seal of approval, a well-known
endorsement of consumer products provided by the magazine of the same name since
1909.
But that's easier said than done. There are currently dozens of separate environmental
seals and certification.
Some address narrow single issues, such as the federal government's Energy
Star seal for energy-efficient appliances or the non-profit Forest Stewardship
Council's seal for sustainably harvested wood.
But those two are just the tip of the iceberg of single-issue seals. For instance,
a group called the Sustainable Forestry Initiative - started by the paper and
timber industry - offers its own certification of wood products that is a rival
to the FSC standard.
Meanwhile, other single-issue seals focus on issues as diverse as animal welfare,
indoor air quality, pesticide residues, biodegradability, sustainable fisheries
and sustainably grown flowers.
Then there are seals based on a number of environmental criteria. The best
known multi-issue seal is probably the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design) standard.
The LEED seal is awarded to buildings based on a variety of criteria ranging
from energy efficiency to use of nontoxic materials. Nearly 10 percent of new
commercial construction projects are now applying for LEED certification, and
the council recently launched a program to certify residential construction,
too.
Two other multi-issue certification programs are EcoLogo, a certification with
roots in the Canadian government but currently managed by an environmental marketing
firm, and Green Seal, an independent, nonprofit certification organization.
They both have set independent environmental standards for items such as paints
and cleaning products since the late 1980s.
But neither of those seals are exactly household words. So many companies don't
see the point of spending time and money to get certified by Green Seal or EcoLogo.
Meanwhile, some individual companies are creating their own seals that have
the potential to confuse shoppers even further.
SC Johnson announced earlier this year that it is adding a Greenlist logo to
bottles of Windex. To average consumers, Greenlist might look like an independent
third-party seal of approval - but it is an internal environmental protocol
developed by SC Johnson itself.
Environmentalists have praised SC Johnson for using its Greenlist protocol
over the past decade to reduce the number of potentially harmful chemicals in
its products. But they said that displaying the logo without explanation could
be misleading to consumers.
"Why not be Green Seal certified?" said Deborah Moore of the Green
Schools Initiative, a Berkeley nonprofit that helps schools make environmental
purchasing decisions. "There is a certification out there and hundreds
of products have it."
An SC Johnson spokeswoman denied trying to confuse consumers. She said the
company had considered a third-party seal but found the application process
could be overly bureaucratic. "We look at those seals and respect them,
but in the case of Windex it didn't make sense," said Kelly Semrau, vice
president of global communications.
Retailers Respond
Meanwhile, some retailers have also started getting into the act by trying
to identify environmentally preferable products for their customers.
Home Depot launched an Eco Options seal for some of the products it carries
last year. And last month Whole Foods Market created a category of Premium Body
Care products that meet a higher standard than the other items they carry. For
instance, the Premium products avoid about 250 ingredients that have been criticized
as potentially harmful by health and environmental activists.
"We were getting feedback from consumers saying, 'We don't know what 'natural'
is,'" said Jody Villecco, quality standards coordinator for the Whole
Foods chain. "We looked at other standards, and there was really no agreement.
So we decided that, as a retailer, we were in a quick and objective position
to get this done."
Just slightly behind Whole Foods, the natural products industry is currently
drafting its own definition of natural cosmetics and body care items. Then it
will issue seals to products that meet the standard.
"We can't legally stop anyone from using the term 'natural,' but when
consumers become aware there is a standard out there, they'll look at products
more carefully," said Daniel Fabricant, vice president of the Natural Products
Association.
In the short run, it seems like things may get even more confusing for the
eco-minded consumer. Suppose you're seeking an environmentally friendly shampoo.
Do you look for the EcoLogo seal, the Whole Foods Premium seal, the National
Products Association seal or some other seal? Or do you try to wade through
ingredient lists and company Web sites on your own?
"You have to know which seals actually mean something - which ones are
independently verified," said Rangan of Consumer Reports.
In the long run, if consumer interest in environmental issues remains high,
some of the confusion in the green-standards world may gradually sort itself
out. Some experts say one model might be the federal government's organic food
standard, which only emerged after years of debate.
But they doubt that we will end up with one single all-encompassing green seal
of approval. Instead, they foresee the emergence of widely accepted standards
on a range of different issues.
"Even though the U.S. environmental movement is pushing on 40 years old,
it's still really early," said Heather Stephenson, co-founder of a Web
site called IdealBite that offers environmental tips to consumers. "Every
day some new piece of information comes up. Given that we're still learning
so much, it's good to have experts in different fields directing labeling. But
having said that, it's still really confusing to consumers."
In Home and Garden
An energy audit can help determine the costs and benefits of making green upgrades
to your home.
Behind the Seals
Green Seal. Greenguard. EcoLogo. Eco Options ... With the spread of green seals
and logos, how can shoppers know which ones are meaningful? Consumer advocates
suggest asking the following questions:
- What does the seal actually mean? Does it address one environmental issue
or a range of issues?
- Are there published criteria that all products with this seal must meet?
- Who develops and administers a particular green seal? Is it an independent
third party like Green Seal, EcoLogo or the U.S. Green Building Council? Or
is it a trade association or manufacturer with a vested interest in making their
products look greener?
- Was the standard developed through a public process, with input from independent
scientists and environmental groups as well as from industry sources?
- Consumer Reports offers more ideas about what makes a meaningful eco-label
at www.greenerchoices.org/eco-labels/eco-good.cfm.
Help or Hype?
Some examples of green claims found in Bay Area supermarkets that may be more
confusing than helpful:
- Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars are labeled as "100% natural"
- but there is no government standard for what the word "natural"
means except for meat and poultry. The list of ingredients in these granola
bars is practically identical to a rival brand of granola bars that don't call
themselves "natural."
- Jennie-O Turkey Store ground turkey is billed as "all natural."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that natural poultry can't have artificial
ingredients or added color. However, it's legal for "natural" turkey
to have been raised on a diet that included hormones, antibiotics or genetically
modified corn.
- Gillette shaving gel has a "no CFCs" label. That's factually accurate
but irrelevant, since CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons, which damage the ozone layer)
have been banned in the United States for nearly 30 years.
- Simple Green all-purpose cleaner says it is nontoxic and biodegradable.
But it also cautions "Do not dispose of ... near storm drains, oceans, lakes
or streams." And it contains some ingredients that have come under fire
from environmental activists such as 2-butoxyethanol, a solvent that has been
linked to reduced fertility in mice, according to Women's Voices for the Environment.
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