There is a high rate of potentially misleading references and imagery to imply non-existent environmental benefits on labels and products, write Anne Penderand Louise Dunne
For those members of the public seeking to lighten their burden on the environment, there are few areas of real power.
Choice of transport, waste reduction and purchasing decisions are the main day-to-day environmental areas under individual household control.
However, there is a frustrating dearth of information and labelling to help make purchasing choices.
A recent study carried out by UCD's school of geography, planning and environmental policy for the Environmental Protection Agency consisted of an initial evaluation of the use and regulation of such labels and claims in Ireland.
Awareness among Irish consumers of environmental issues and the impact of their purchasing choices is low, with the majority of consumers never paying attention to environmental labels or product information.
Among those who do, the information on product packs tends to confuse rather than enlighten.
There have been few initiatives to educate consumers or businesses about environmental labels and claims and none of a comprehensive integrated nature as found in other countries.
There has been little uptake or promotion in Ireland of the EU Ecolabel - the Ecoflower - which certifies that a product fulfils certain environmental criteria. Many other countries have their own national labels or subscribe to international environmental labels, which can help consumers choose greener products providing the labels are recognisable and trustworthy.
If Irish consumers are to make the move to more sustainable consumption, then they require accurate and reliable information to enable them to differentiate between the environmental impacts of competing products.
As businesses have come to recognise that environmental concerns may be translated into a market advantage for certain products and services, various environmental declarations/claims/labels have emerged on products and services.
These labels include factual claims such as "biodegradable" or "recyclable", qualitative claims such as "environmentally-friendly", logos or symbols such as the Mobius loop (the recyclable symbol), and images of nature.
A small-scale survey carried out for this EPA study indicated quite a wide variety and amount of environmental claims and labels on products for sale in Ireland.
Several problem areas were identified, with large numbers of unacceptable claims identified across the five product groups surveyed (paints, laundry detergents, dishwashing liquids, household cleaners and paper products).
As well as factual claims, there are also a large number of claims implying exceptional characteristics for products that are actually standard industry practice (eg "lead-free" or "no CFCs", as both lead and CFCs have been banned for many years). There is confusion about the green dot symbol, which merely signifies that the producer has subscribed to Repak, but which is mistaken for meaning the packaging is recyclable.
There was also a high rate of use of qualitative and potentially misleading references and imagery to imply non-existent environmental benefits (eg, "caring for nature", "conserve our environment").
Overall, the results indicate either a lack of knowledge or lack of concern among manufacturers regarding misleading environmental claims, pointing to the need for effective guidance and sanctions .
Despite commitments to further sustainable consumption in both the Department of the Environment's 1997 Nati onal Sustainable Development Strategyand the Department. of Enterprise, Trade and Employment's 2003-2005 Sustainable Development Policy, policy in Ireland on sustainable consumption is fragmented and limited, with responsibility for environmental product information divided between at least three Government departments and agencies.
While lack of resources may be a factor in the low level of activity on environmental claims to date, the continued lack of policy and action may have an impact in areas such as competition between firms, in addition to that of consumer choice and decision-making. Regulation and control of self-declared environmental claims is critical to their effective use, and Ireland lags behind other member states in general consumer protection, with control systems being largely complaints-driven and consumers left to fend for themselves .
For example, while the Code of Advertising Standards does have a specific section on environmental declarations, it specifically excludes assertions found on products and their packaging, a primary source of information for consumers at the point of sale.
In addition, several other pieces of legislation which could be used to control misleading environmental claims have yet to be tested , eg the Consumer Information Act 1978 and the European Communities (Misleading Advertising) Regulations 1988.
Likewise, the European Commission's guidelines on making and assessing environmental claims are not promoted or used in Ireland. A 1998 European Commission study found there were no instruments of control specific to green claims in Ireland and no sanctions in place for misleading declarations.
The commission's guidelines on making and assessing environmental claims are not currently promoted or used in Ireland, even though they would compensate for the ASAI code's limited scope with regard to on-pack environmental claims.
There has been no uptake of the ISO 14021 standard for self-declared environmental claims by Irish companies to date.
The situation in Ireland on the use and control of environmental claims is poor, particularly in comparison with other countries.
Very little data exists on the use and control of these claims and the area has very little priority as a policy area at Government level.
This situation means consumers are poorly informed and unable to differentiate between companies offering products and services with genuinely lower environmental impacts and those seeking to exploit an increasingly valuable market niche and take advantage of consumer ignorance.
The failure to adequately address the issues surrounding environmental claims in Ireland would appear to reflect similar failures in the wider area of sustainable consumption.
It also represents missed opportunities to educate and seriously engage consumers in more informed purchasing choices and to use the increased wealth levels in this country to help achieve a more sustainable use of resources to the benefit of society and the environment.