Eco Labels

Ecolabels usually cover a wide range of environmental impacts, across the lifetime of a product, from production and use through to disposal.

European Ecolabel

This is an official Europe-wide award for non-food products that minimise impacts on the environment. Products with the label's flower symbol achieve high environmental standards. The label is only awarded to goods and services which meet strict criteria to minimise the impacts of consumer products on the environment:

Products must be independently certified, and have to meet strict criteria for all the main environmental impacts across their whole life cycle.

DEFRA runs the scheme in the UK, where products with the Flower include kitchen rolls, toilet tissue, paints and clothing. You can find the Flower throughout the European Union as well as in Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. The European Eco-label is part of a broader strategy aimed at promoting sustainable consumption and production.

For more about ecolabels, visit the website of the Global Ecolabelling Network.