TerraChoice and the EcoLogo Program are proud to introduce Dr. Angela Griffiths as the new Executive Director of the EcoLogo Program. Griffiths has been settling into her role as Executive Director for a few months now and is managing the EcoLogo science team and overseeing the Program’s standard development, auditing, and verification processes for the organization.

Reflecting on her past few months of overseeing the EcoLogo Program, Griffiths says, “I have really enjoyed working with the EcoLogo Program so far. It is a real pleasure to be able to work with industry leaders on a market-based program that is driving real change in the way products are made.” read more

TerraChoice’s latest issue of eQ: “The Consumer Cleaning Edition” has just been launched.  Among this edition’s features are an interview with David Suzuki (which will be featured in an upcoming blog post) and a “How-To” article explaining the way to credibly market “green” consumer cleaning products.  With a rise in demand for greener consumer cleaning products, this article is a great resource for companies wanting to take advantage of this opportunity.

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TerraChoice has recently launched the first greenwashing game, “Name that Sin,” which is designed to help educate consumers to avoid the pitfalls of greenwashing - the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service. This interactive game puts players to the test as they try to answer practical questions that will help them become smarter consumers! read more

The EcoLogo Program has grown by leaps and bounds over the years and is recognized as one of the top third-party certifications in North America.

In an effort to modernize the logo, a new EcoLogo mark has been designed that will replace the traditional version (three doves forming a leaf) in the United States. Canadian companies with EcoLogo-certified products or services have been given the option to either continue to use the traditional version or opt for the new mark seen here. Further details will be sent to clients about the use of the EcoLogo’s marks in the form of an interim Guide and, in the coming weeks, a more comprehensive Guide will be circulated.

We are also proud to announce a newly designed EcoLogo website. We encourage you to surf the site and provide us with your feedback: www.ecologo.org.

Welcome to the new EcoLogo blog. It’s always hard to know where to start with an endeavor like this, but it seems sensible to begin with an explanation. Ecolabels are growing like kudzu (with huge growth in the last year particularly), but each label is different and has its own way of defining product certification – from the factors that make a product eligible, to the process for certifying, to rules for enforcement. EcoLogo has its criteria like any other label. Out of the detailed EcoLogo documentation, here are three points that are fundamental to the EcoLogo program.

1. An open, transparent process for defining standards: EcoLogo standards are developed with a broad base of stakeholders including user groups, purchasers, producers, scientists and more.
2. Multiple-attribute standards: No EcoLogo standard is based on a single attribute, such as recycled content or chemical makeup. Instead EcoLogo considers a wide array of factors that go into making a product environmentally friendly, ensuring that any product with an EcoLogo label is green in as many areas as possible for the product category.
   
   
3. Regular product inspections: While some certification programs operate with little oversight, the EcoLogo program regularly inspects all of its certified products to make sure they have maintained compliance with EcoLogo standards. Any product that does not meet inspection cannot carry the EcoLogo label.

There is so much information coming out of the EcoLogo program that it only made sense for us to start a blog. In the coming months we’ll be sharing details about new product certifications, information on the standards creation process, and our own commentary and analysis on green happenings. If you’re curious, check out our “About” section for more background on this blog. And if you’re a follower of the green industry, add us to your subscription list, or just check back regularly. We’re excited to be joining the online conversation.