Eco-Label

Ecover and the EU eco-label : Why doesn’t Ecover carry it?

In order to help raise environmental standards worldwide, Ecover, as a pioneering company, is committed to working with the European Union in its ongoing effort to establish a certification scheme that defines the criteria for an ecological product. Ecover has not steered away from engaging and collaborating with European Union agencies in this process. Still, Ecover does not carry the EU eco-label “Flower” for the simple reason that Ecover believes the standards and criteria for carrying the Flower are just not high enough yet.

Our company goal is to promise consumers a washing and cleaning product that is efficient and truly ecological. Our standards are stringent because its helps us protect and guarantee our promise. We will make no compromises by carrying a label that, we believe, today does not mirror the level of ecological quality that we produce and sell. Nonetheless, we believe that it is possible to create a European certification scheme that is stringent and fair. Ecover, with nearly 30 years of sustainability at its core, therefore willfully shares its knowledge, skill and standards with the scientific community and agencies of the European Union. We do so in the hope that one day our products can bear a European label that truly reflects who and what we are.

What is the EU eco-label?

Established in 1992, the EU eco-label “Flower” is a certification scheme aimed "to help European consumers distinguish greener, more environmentally friendly, products and services (not including food and medicine)". Over the years, the "Flower" has become a European-wide symbol for products, providing simple and accurate guidance to consumers. All products bearing the "Flower" have been checked by independent bodies for complying with strict ecological and performance criteria. For more information, go to: www.eco-label.com

Well, if the EU Eco-label says it has strict ecological and performance criteria then what’s wrong?

Nothing is wrong with the EU Eco-label. We admit that the EU Eco-label criteria are strict, but just not strict enough for Ecover. Take for example raw materials. The EU eco-label neither requires or promotes renewable raw materials. According to the EU eco-label, environmental criteria “will take into account all aspects of a product's life, from its production and use to its eventual disposal (cradle-to-grave approach)”. However, under the eco-label approach, the source of raw materials is excluded. Ecover, on the other hand, has highly stringent standards for the source selection of its raw materials. Sourcing is not excluded from the product’s life cycle. Moreover, raw materials must be renewable. This means they can be grown again or replenished and are inexhaustible. However, to this date, higher criteria for the sourcing of raw materials still need to be adopted into the EU eco-labeling scheme. Until this happens, Ecover will keep pushing for this.

In most countries laundry products containing phosphates are illegal. But the EU Eco-label says a small amount is still ok. How can this happen?

Well, this just explains another major hurdle in the EU eco-labeling scheme. It does not exempt products or services from complying with additional non-EU or national environmental or regulatory requirements, as may be applicable to the various stages of the product life cycle. This means that where a product containing phosphates is legal under the eco-label and national law of one country, it still could not be sold in countries where phosphates are deemed illegal. It makes the eco-label for that product obsolete in those countries. And, for Ecover, these inconsistencies or “loopholes” are problematic in determining what makes a product truly “ecological”.

And what about CDV?

For comparing the environmental relevance of household and personal care products, the Critical Dilution Volume (CDV) originally developed for the EU eco-label of detergents is an often used key criterion. The CDV uses the dimension “liters per functional unit” which expresses the amount of water needed for the hypothetical dilution of a chemical substance or product. To comply with the EU eco-label requirements, the CDV of a product must not exceed a defined maximum value. Studies have shown, however, that in many cases, this criterion has led to an unrealistic depiction of the environmental behavior of product ingredients and to inadequate product evaluations. Critics argue that it considers biodegradation as the only parameter for assessment of the environmental exposure and does not allow for a realistic evaluation of the chemical load in rivers due to product ingredients. At Ecover, we look at the complete ecological performance of our products, and not just the CDV.

What do Ecover and the EU eco-label agree on?

Well, we agree on the very basic belief that while no human activity is completely 'environmentally friendly', there are always opportunities to reduce the impact that certain products have upon the environment. Ecover is constantly innovating and pushing boundaries to create new and more effective products that have minimum negative impact on the environment, and consistently achieves extraordinary ethical standards with its products, management and production methods.