Environmental Choice
Home » Good Guide » Environmental ChoiceWith more products making green claims, it's not easy to tell soul from spin. Thankfully, the Environmental Choice accreditation is one label that you can trust
Eco. Pure. Natural. Friendlier to the environment. These are all buzzwords you’re increasingly likely to see on the packaging of everything from paint to shower gel.
Today’s consumers are willing to pay a few extra dollars because they care about the environment—and marketing departments know it. That means it’s becoming almost impossible to feel confident that what you’re buying really is the best choice for you, your community and the environment. 
New Zealand eco-label Environmental Choice New Zealand aims to change this. Environmental Choice was initiated and is endorsed by the Ministry for the Environment, with the intention of assuring consumers that a product has been proven to be environmentally preferable to the alternatives.
Environmental Choice New Zealand general manager Robin Taylor explains: “At present there are many bogus or unproven claims on products. The buyer really has to beware of vague claims and meaningless ‘environmental’-looking symbols. We’re committed to giving the consumer something they can recognise and trust.”
The Environmental Choice accreditation is granted only upon robust proof that products are better for the environment. External, independent, qualified assessors are contracted to perform all assessments before a license to use the label is issued. This team of experts investigate everything from where components and ingredients come from, right through to the manufacturing process and the effect on the local community, and finally take into account whole-of-lifecycle consequences.
No ‘greenwash’ is possible here: the extensive scientific standards for each product are tough and transparent, published on the Environmental Choice website at www.environmentalchoice.org.nz. The standards are reviewed regularly, in consultation with manufacturers, scientists and professional assessors, so they keep pace with the latest advances in environmental practice. In keeping with international standards, the benchmark is raised as new levels of environmental performance become feasible.
The Environmental Choice planet-and-tick seal is the only label in New Zealand recognised by the Global Ecolabelling Network internationally as absolutely trustworthy proof of environmental preferability.
So, amid the clutter of vague product claims, letters and symbols suggesting that products are ‘better for the environment’, the planet-and-tick seal of Environmental Choice New Zealand is independently assured, government-endorsed and 100 percent credible. All you need to take a personal step towards supporting the planet, and your family’s and colleagues’ healthier environments, is to choose Environmental Choice New Zealand labelled products whenever you can, because the ethical, scientific and environmental questions have been asked and proven for you.
The truth about labelling
Terrachoice, the US-based environmental marketing consultancy, reports that green marketing in popular magazines has tripled since 2006, and 62 percent of consumers say they take the environment into account when purchasing goods and services. But it also found that few claims hold up to scrutiny.
Shockingly, some of the green-looking stamps on product packaging are completely meaningless, with further investigation sometimes revealing that a company has awarded itself its own certification. Words such as ‘natural’ or ‘pure’ are unregulated, which means you essentially need a chemistry degree—and magnifying glass—to determine if the ingredients genuinely are environmentally sound.
Checking for the Environmental Choice New Zealand planet-and-tick symbol gives you assurance that the product is proven to safely do what it claims, and is less environmentally harmful from the point of manufacture right through to disposal of empty packaging.
For more information about eco-labels, see www.celsias.co.nz/article/label-report
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