This past July, outdoor apparel and gear company Timberland held a Stakeholder Conference Call on eco-labeling. The speakers included: Jeff Swartz, President and CEO of the Timberland Company (www.timberland.com), Joel Makower, Executive Editor of GreenBiz.com (www.greenbiz.com), and Mindy Lubber, Executive Director of Ceres (www.ceres.org)

We caught up with Joel Makower this week to talk about some of the eco-labeling issues that came up during this recent discussion.

Kate - There are hundreds of eco-labels in the marketplace: 308 at last count. One of the comments that kept coming up during Timberland’s stakeholder call is a need for standardization among the many environmental labels. How important would a standard be, given the rise in companies designing their own eco-labels?

Joel Makower - It would be very important, but I don’t honestly think it can be done. Each of the 300 or so eco-labels has its own approach, agendas, methodology, and levels of independence. Most can’t be compared apples to apples, or even fruit to fruit.

However, there could and probably should be some overriding principles for what makes a credible label, not the least of which is that standards be specific, transparent, and verifiable. That alone would go a long way toward warding off activists’ and consumers’ concerns, along with the concomitant charges of greenwashing.

Kate – Consumers are becoming more and more confused and suspicious of eco-labels. Is there something marketers can do to better promote “green” products?

Joel Makower - I think what makes consumers confused and suspicious are the marketing claims that go with many products. They tell us that “it’s easy being green” and that we can “save the earth” by making smart purchase choices. I think most intelligent people recognize that both of those claims are overblown, if not outright lies. And yet such hyperbole is all too common among green marketers.

I think marketers would do better to put their claims into context, leveling with consumers that the company recognizes that their environmentally better product is one small step consumers can take. And that the product itself is far from perfect, from an environmental perspective, but that its manufacturer is working to continually reduce its environmental impacts.

I think consumers can accept imperfection, and will probably embrace it, recognizing that just like them, companies are struggling with how to make changes. Which, in fact, is exactly what’s going on.

Kate – According to The Morning News out of Arkansas (article found here), Wal-Mart is looking for its buyers to submit products for selection that have an environmental impact that consumers care about and understand. They want their products to tell a story. What do you think about this approach?

Joel Makower - I think Wal-Mart is on the money. So much of marketing is storytelling, and it’s no different here. In fact, when it comes to sustainability, storytelling takes on an ever greater importance. That’s because sustainability involves, on the one hand, extremely complex, scientific, geeky stuff, about which even the experts don’t agree. But on the other hand, it’s about our bodies, families, and future. So, it’s head and heart. And you can’t emphasize either too much or you’ll lose much of your audience. Storytelling is the best way we know how to integrate head and heart, along the way making companies more transparent and, yes, more human.
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Check back for more conversations with Joel as he gets ready to launch his newest book “Strategies for the Green Economy” later this fall.

The EcoLogoCM Program needs your expertise in the expansion of a current standard and offers an important opportunity to contribute to EcoLogo’s continued scientific rigor and environmental leadership.

We are requesting comments on the proposed criteria for Area Rugs (CCD-152G), which is an expansion of CCD-152 for Flooring Products. This invitation for public participation is restricted to Area Rugs only as it is the EcoLogoCM Program’s intention to review the entire standard for Flooring Products in 2009, when all criteria will be re-assessed against current environmental best practices and other available standards in the market sector.

In developing environmental leadership standards, EcoLogoCM actively encourages the participation of a wide variety of stakeholders familiar with the product group. This includes environmental NGOs and other not-for-profit organizations, academics and other scientific experts, manufacturers, industry associations, government representatives, and purchasing professionals.

Please direct comments to standards_development@ecologo.org. All comments are treated with discretion and confidentiality.

The EcoLogoCM Certification Criteria Document (CCD) can be found online at: http://www.ecologo.org/en/criteriaunderdevelopmentandreview/criteriaunderpublicreview/ or a copy can be sent upon request.

Part of being an effective environmental marketing agency is conducting ongoing, meaningful, primary research. Once a year TerraChoice surveys a wide sample of procurement professionals for an EcoMarkets report to determine the state of green purchasing and analyze year-over-year trends. The full EcoMarkets 2008 report is due out in June, but a few of the conclusions are available now. Here’s some of what TerraChoice found out in 2008:

• 31% of respondents indicated that at least 40% of spending is ‘green’ influenced
• 25% of organizations surveyed have formal green purchasing policies - up from 22% in 2007
• 72% of purchasers surveyed feel that ecolabels help purchasing decisions
• The single biggest factor that respondents said would facilitate more green purchasing is more training and education on how to buy eco-friendly products and services

This year’s EcoMarkets study surveyed 336 procurement professionals, with roughly half located in the US and half located in Canada. Stay tuned for the full report, which will appear on the Responsible Purchasing site. In the meantime, TerraChoice and the Responsible Purchasing Network hosted a webcast on May 28th with more of the study results discussed. A webcast video is available.

If you’re a procurement professional interested in participating in future studies, please contact the TerraChoice EcoLogo Procurement Think Tank at thinktank@ecologo.org.

The Greenwash Brigade hit the nail on the head recently with their commentary on a public radio interview with Seventh Generation’s Jeffrey Hollender. Namely: it’s extremely hard for consumers to uncover greenwashing on their own. If you’re knowledgeable on environmental issues, you can make reasonable guesses about when a marketing claim may be suspect. But trying to get specific environmental information about a product is exceedingly difficult.

First, there are so many things that go into whether a product should be considered environmentally friendly. How was it manufactured? How is it packaged? How was it transported? Is it recyclable?

Second, it’s difficult to find a credible source with information on a product’s environmental impact. Who is documenting this stuff? Are they trustworthy?

Interestingly, the topic fits well into a discussion TerraChoice’s Scot Case had with the Federal Trade Commission recently. The FTC is revamping its Environmental Marketing Claims Guidelines and is currently hearing testimony from experts as they deliberate. Scot was on a panel regarding the need for FTC guidance and made one critical recommendation. Since consumers are demanding proof of green claims, companies should be required to provide it – either with data and evidence on their websites or through third-party certification.

In others words, consumers shouldn’t be stuck with the burden of research. Companies should help make the information consumers need easily available.

Note: For your listening pleasure, there’s a recorded webcast from the FTC event mentioned above.

OfficeMax had some really cool news out last week. The green-savvy retailer has partnered with the award-winning, green start-up company TerraCycle. OfficeMax is launching the partnership with seven TerraCycle products including a line of EcoLogo-certified, TerraCycle Natural Cleaners. Besides being plant-based, non-toxic and biodegradable, these cleaners are packaged directly in used soda bottles! Talk about innovative recycling.

TerraCycle has a storied if still-short history in bringing eco-friendly products to market. The company, founded by 25-year-old Tom Szaky started out with worm poop plant food, making it big with distribution through WalMart and The Home Depot in 2005.

Meanwhile OfficeMax is one of several retailers on a quest to become one of the greenest big-box stores around. And as more and more retailers fight for top green honors, certifications from accredited ecolabelers like EcoLogo grow increasingly important for retail suppliers. TerraCycle certainly makes for tough supplier competition.

Word from a customer company clued me in today to further news on the plastic bag front. In addition to San Francisco’s ban and efforts underway in Maryland, activists and legislators in the city of Santa Monica and the state of Wisconsin are also pushing for an end to traditional plastic bags in retail locations.

Diamant Corporation is promoting the news because of its biodegradable plastic alternative, which is used as food wrap and can be made into grocery bags as well. This EcoLogo-certified product (the only one currently in the category of packaging film) contains no plasticizer or chlorine and is completely recyclable. The company also just announced that it has commercial levels of inventory available, enough to produce in the range of 1.5 billion grocery bags or 16.5 billion pounds of biodegradable plastic.

Want to buy Diamant plastic wrap? The company makes it available for individuals on its website. You know you’ll be in good company too. Last month, Google ordered the plastic film as part of its commitment to environmentally-friendly practices.

New products receive EcoLogo certification every month, and I thought it might be instructive to look at the last several months to see if there have been any trends. Turns out there have. While I knew green cleaning was a hot topic, I had no idea how hot. Roughly one third of recently certified products fall under the EcoLogo category of hard-surface cleaners. And that doesn’t even include the handful of other products like detergent and hand cleaner that support the green cleaning trend.How does a hard-surface cleaner meet the EcoLogo standard? Here are some of the criteria:

• No glycol ethers or their acetates
• No alkylphenol ethoxylate surfactants (APEOS) (Note: environmentalists are trying to pass a bill in Connecticut that would phase out these suspected hormone disruptors in all products)
• No toxic metals, including but not limited to arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, silver and mercury
• No more than 1% by weight of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as used (after dilution if applicable), or more than 12% by weight if sold in concentrated form

Among the other categories of recently certified EcoLogo products are green power, personal care products (like shampoo) and toilet tissue.

Eleven influential environmental groups in Canada - including the David Suzuki Foundation, Greenpeace Canada and Sierra Club Canada - recently put together a roadmap for change called Tomorrow Today: How Canada can make a world of difference. The document reports on seven key issues, and I highly recommend giving it a read through. The information included is generally not surprising or new, but the authors lay out detailed recommendations for what the Canadian government should do in the short term to lessen the country’s environmental impact.

Among the topics discussed in the report is a whole section on “human health and toxic chemicals”. Canadian law today does not ban certain hazardous chemicals including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and phthalates. Once again, environmental standards are far ahead of legal mandates, but if the groups behind the report have their way, Canada is on a path to bringing environmental standards like EcoLogo and the law closer together. As stated recently, EcoLogo bans PDBEs in products like office machines and phthalates in a number of floor care products. The new Tomorrow Today report recommends that the Canadian government immediately ban or phase out these chemicals in all or nearly all products. It would be a welcome move.

Meanwhile in the US, federal law is also far behind what environmental groups recommend. PBDEs, for example, are still allowed, though legislators are starting to ban them at the state level. In 2007 Washington became the first state to ban PDBEs and other states appear to be following suit.

Phthalates have been a hot-button issue lately because of a study published in Pediatrics showing elevated phthalate levels in babies’ urine. This is a concern because phthalates, which are man-made chemicals, may alter reproductive development. (Yet another example of the convergence of environmental and health issues)

Not surprisingly a lot of the focus on phthalates has been on baby care products applied directly to babies’ skin – lotions, shampoos, powders, etc. However, that’s not the only place phthalates are found. I scanned some of the EcoLogo category criteria documents and discovered that phthalates are used in some floor care products – floor finishers, sealers, restorers, etc. It seems likely that this would have less of an effect on health given that floor care products aren’t generally absorbed through the skin. However, given a choice, I’d go for a floor care product without phthalates. Check out the EcoLogo-certified list.

One other note, phthalates are also used in some electronics, including, according to Wikipedia, the iPod.

This post is Part Four in a series of posts based on discussions with John Polak, chair of the Global Ecolabelling Network. Click for Part One, Part Two or Part Three.

Government interest in the environment and green procurement stems from more than just a desire to save the planet. John Polak brought up the good point that the convergence of environmental and health concerns is driving changes in government policies. In a relatively new development, governments have begun to look at the environment and health from a chemical perspective. A lot of chemicals that are bad for the environment tend to be bad for people too, and politically, “Save the people!” can be a more compelling call to arms than “Save the planet!”

For example, nothing galvanizes consumers/voters more than a health risk discovered in a mass-produced product. Think of the recent lead scare around toys manufactured in China. According to John, that debacle simply exacerbated the issue of not having appropriate safeguards in place to minimize the risks of exposure to hazardous materials. It wasn’t an environmental issue to start, but it certainly has environmental implications.

John also pointed out, along those lines, that the best way to get traction on chemical issues is to focus on the very young. Apparently in Norway new mothers leave the hospital with their new babies and ecolabel gift bags. Maybe there’s a role for healthcare and health insurance providers in promoting the green movement. Should there be EcoLogo-certified products in your doctor’s office? Should government-based health initiatives and organizations more closely link themselves to ecolabelling efforts?