Global day celebrates power of ecolabels

18 October 2018

Global day celebrates power of ecolabels

World Ecolabel Day is a global campaign run by the Global Ecolabelling Network to raise awareness of products and services that are certified green.

Environmental Choice New Zealand (ECNZ) will mark the important place ecolabels have in kiwi business and society on the inaugural World Ecolabel Day (WED) on25 October.

The Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN), of which ECNZ is a member, has started WED to celebrate ecolabel products and services. As New Zealand’s only Type I ecolabel, ECNZ is proud to take part in WED with 26 other GEN members worldwide.

ECNZ is one of four GEN members to create a video to celebrate and promote WED internationally. The ECNZ video highlights the environmental integrity of ecolabels and looks at national trends that favour sustainable consumption. The WED video has been posted on the ECNZ website and can be viewed here.

GEN members around the world will share these videos with key partners, raising awareness of WED through active posting on social media and online blogging using the hashtag #WorldEcolabelDay. Information about ecolabels and WED will also be distributed to local schools, businesses and media.

Since ECNZ was established in 1990, the label has grown to cover around 1,500 products and services with more than 50 businesses investing in ECNZ to verify their environmental claims. Third-party verified ecolabels like ECNZ provide assurance that the products and services bearing the label have a positive environmental impact.

ECNZ General Manager Francesca Lipscombe says there is a clear and positive shift in New Zealanders’ support for sustainable procurement practices.

“Many of our licensees have been loyal to the label for a long time and it’s just become a normal part of how they do business. Recent research also shows us that many New Zealanders are strongly in favour of companies that act responsibly towards the environment,” she says.

Results from the latest Better Futures survey by Colmar Brunton found that 83% of kiwis would stop buying a company’s products if they heard about them being unethical and 73% said it was important to work for a company that was socially and environmentally responsible.

Lipscombe says that WED is a fantastic opportunity to shine the spotlight on products and services that carry ecolabels.

“It’s very heartening to see a growing awareness from consumers about the products they buy. WED is about raising awareness and education around ecolabels and our video promotes the power of certified products and services to businesses and consumers,” she says.

To prepare for WED and help promote a sustainable future with certified green ecolabels, GEN has made resources available on their website here.

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