Informing the Green Consumer: The Debate Over the Use and Abuse of Environmental Labels

Summary Third‐party environmental labeling programs continue to develop around the world. They are being increasingly challenged at the policy level, however; by a well‐organized industry opposition claiming that the labels do not identify environmentally superior goods and are subject to abuse as protectionist trade barriers. Ecolabels' effectiveness in the marketplace still has not been empirically proven, although industry interest remains high and in certain cases labels appear to have influenced product design. There is little empirical evidence labels have acted as trade barriers, and negotiations within the World Trade Organization are stalemated. The International Organization for Standardization is developing standards for ecolabeling programs that may influence their status under intemational trade law. The Forest Stewardship Council, a nongovernmental umbrella group certifying sustainably harvested timber; remains the leader in this sector of resource labels. Intense industry interest in environmental labels likely arises out of fear that labels will be used as protectionist nontarifftrade barriers and, more important that label criteria will be adopted as the basis for government public procurement programs.