The EcoLogo
Program(M), formerly known as the Environmental Choice Program(M), has
instituted a new “Fraud Advisory” service to help purchasers – government,
business, as well as consumers – make sure the products they select are indeed
green.
The advisory,
which as been added to the organization’s web site, www.ecologo.org, will list manufacturers and
products falsely claiming product certification and bearing the organization’s
EcoLogo label.
The EcoLogo is one
of North America’s most widely recognized environmental certification labels.
“This is an
important step not only to protect consumers and the EcoLogo but to protect the
Green movement,” said Scott McDougall, president and CEO of the EcoLogo
program. “Certification helped spur the evolution to Green products because
buyers learned to trust the designation and know it means products have passed
rigorous tests and evaluations in order to be certified.”
“When the Green
movement first started about 35 years ago, some manufacturers ‘self-declared’
their products to be Green with little or no evidence to back it up,” McDougall
said. “Many did so through genuine ignorance, while others did it to take
advantage of a hot new trend.”
The result was a
lot of confusion for consumers. And, when some products were later found not be
environmentally preferable, buyers lost trust in the Green movement – one
reason McDougall believes it was essentially dormant for many years.
“It is important
that we not repeat the mistakes of the past,” he said.“Virtually every industry from automobiles
and industrial products to janitorial and office furniture is now seeking Green
certification. For this to continue – and grow – consumers must know they can
trust the EcoLogo label.”
For more
information, visit www.ecologo.org,
e-mail: Scott McDougall at
or call toll free (800) 478-0399.
