A proliferation of definitions - that's the problem | The Greenwash Brigade

The Greenwash Brigade

A proliferation of definitions - that's the problem

Heidi reports 8 million web pages featuring sustainable development, and pointed out that there is "no dearth of sustainability criteria, labels and certification systems." Frankly, I think that's precisely the problem. Just reading her post, I felt so overwhelmed my brain tuned out.

I see two problems.

1) If there are 8 million pages featuring sustainable development, it's too many to be any good for "regular" non-expert people. It's also so many, manufacturers can find the right one to fit their purposes, honorable or not.

2) Too many criteria, labels and certification systems confuse consumers. Which of the multiple fair trade certifications is best? Certainly niche products (like low-VOC building products) need a very specific certification, but that's not useful for general consumers. Hyper-stringent standards (like Cradle to Cradle) also play a role, but they aren't accessible to most products.

There needs to be a small number of certifications that are meaningful, achieve significant market penetration so they can be found in stores, and that people can recognize and grasp -- think Energy Star.

I simply don't think the American consumer -- an expert at consuming, but not an expert in every technical area of manufacturing -- who wants to consume in a more sustainable way should need a masters degree to understand labeling on products.

January 12, 2008 by Janne K. Flisrand
3 comments

tags: definitions sustainability

Comments (3)

Labels Galore
January 16, 2008 6:53 AM PT

I certainly understand your argument and agree to a certain extent. However, with point #2: All of the "fair trade" labels in the link are certified by FLO the Fairtrade Labelling Organization, which is international. Each country has their own FLO affiliate (in the US, it's TransFair US) and those labels are for different countries, but all mean the same standards. I think it's important to remember with a lot of "sustainable" and "organic" labels that they do not have any standards related to worker rights (for example, prohibiting child labor). That is why looking for the official label from TransFair is important -- it ensures that farmers get a fair price for their products and much more.

Mari
January 30, 2008 1:51 PM PT

Janne- Agreed. But I don't think anyone's going to stop creating green labels. With that being the case, we need a way to differentiate between the good and the bad. A certifier of the certifiers.

And ultimately we may need policy tools and other market mechanisms to push the green labels that are effective.

Rodney North
February 12, 2008 7:03 AM PT

I agree with the general direction of this post - that there are maybe too many labels, and certainly too many faux, industry-sponsored labels (check out the book "Eating Between the Lines"), but regarding Fair Trade the situation is simpler than was implied.

For starters, there is only one seal you'll find on products in the US (see www.transfairusa.org ) and the Canadian version is simply a bi-lingual version of the same seal.

Second, the link you gave to 6 six Fair Trade labels is out of date. Those were six labels used in Europe, and years ago they were all replaced with one single pan-Europe logo. see www.fairtrade.net

Tools

Meet the Greenwash Brigade

Our hand-picked environmental professionals, each part of the Public Insight Network, are on the hunt for "greenwash" as they examine eco-friendly claims by companies, governments and other groups. They ask tough questions about the mainstreaming of green, from the perspectives of people in the trenches who are focused on these issues 24/7.

Jim Nicolow is a nationally recognized expert on sustainable design and leads the sustainability initiative for Lord, Aeck & Sargent, overseeing the incorporation of sustainable design strategies and features into the firm’s design projects. He is a LEED® Accredited Professional with extensive knowledge of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED rating system.

Janne K. Flisrand has worked as an affordable housing and urban planning research consultant for five years, primarily supporting local non-profits. Her focus is on transit, transit-oriented design, affordable housing, and sustainability. Currently, she’s the program coordinator for Minnesota Green Communities, a program promoting affordable, healthy, sustainably built housing throughout Minnesota.

Dennis Markatos-Soriano recently completed a Master's in Public Affairs at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School. He is now launching Sustainable Energy Transition (SET) to help individuals and institutions move from dependence on oil and gas to an efficient use of renewables. Previously, he co-founded SURGE (Students United for a Responsible Global Environment), which aims to bring young progressives together across issues of environmental and social justice throughout North Carolina and beyond. In the summer of 2006, he helped to start a small green company, Greenway Pedicabs, to provide a greenhouse gas-free transportation option for people in the Triangle of North Carolina.

Heidi Siegelbaum is president of Siegelbaum & Associates, which specializes in science translation, cross-border indicators with Canada, cross-disciplinary planning and environmental technical assistance to businesses. Increasingly, her focus is on sustainable tourism and green hotels. Previously, she was in-house legal counsel for EPA for industrial chemicals and biotechnology and the senior performance measure analyst for the Washington State Department of Ecology. She is on the executive committee of the Northwest Natural Resource Group, which brokers FSC forest certification and landowner business services.

NOTE: The opinions expressed by the Greenwash Brigade bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of American Public Media or its employees. American Public Media is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the Greenwash Brigade bloggers.

Marketplace

The Greenwash Brigade