Introduction to Ecolabels and Standards for Greener Products
On this page:
- EPA's work to develop standards and ecolabels
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Green Guides support better environmental marketing claims
- Guidelines for standards and ecolabels for use in federal procurement
Given the complexity of a product's potential environmental impacts and attributes, manufacturers have a tough job in trying to communicate this information to buyers. Often there is little space on a product label or on a website for environmental information. A growing variety of communication tools and messaging techniques have entered the marketplace as manufacturers try to differentiate their products and consumers demand more environmental information.
Environmental performance standards and ecolabels aim to define and communicate "what is greener." They can be developed by private entities, by public agencies, or jointly by stakeholders and experts from the public and private sectors.
EPA's work to develop standards and ecolabels
As part of its mission, EPA works with a variety of private sector standards developers to create voluntary consensus standards for environmentally preferable goods and services. The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-119 direct the federal government to participate in the development of and use private sector standards, where those standards meet government needs.
EPA also develops standards, criteria documents and ecolabeling programs for products as part of its mission to protect human health and the environment. Examples of EPA ecolabeling programs include ENERGY STAR™, WaterSense® and Safer Choice. They are noteworthy examples of Federal leadership in advancing energy efficiency, water efficiency and green chemistry, respectively, and reflect EPA's commitment to objective, fact-based decision-making, grounded in scientific reasoning and principles, and using the best available data.
The number of standards for green products has increased in recent years due to growth in market demand for "green" products. Recent examples include standards for electronics and building materials (such as furniture, carpet and paint). More are likely to arise as retailers, governments and other buyers seek to expand their green purchasing.
However, along with this changing marketplace has come increasing concern regarding "greenwashing" and uncertainty about which environmental claims related to standards and labels can be trusted. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has created its Green Guides to help ensure that marketing claims regarding the environmental attributes of products are truthful and substantiated. However, these guides largely address when and how very specific and narrow environmental attributes can be claimed, not how to construct a broad-based environmental standard or ecolabeling program.
EPA's Guidelines for Environmental Performance Standards and Ecolabels for Use in Federal Procurement
The Guidelines, developed through a stakeholder consensus process, provide a transparent, fair, and consistent approach to assessing marketplace standards and ecolabels for recommendations to federal purchasers. The Guidelines encourage continuous improvement of both standards and ecolabels and the products and services that those standards and ecolabels address, while providing flexibility to accommodate the variety of approaches to and types of standards and ecolabels that exist in the marketplace today.
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