Regulation of all green claims

How is it possible that manufacturers can call their products 'green' while they are far from it???

CONSUMER advocates are calling for mandatory regulation of all green claims made for household cleaning items, paper and tissue products after an investigation revealed that current standards for environmental marketing were largely ignored.

A nationwide consumer education program and website should also be established to help shoppers determine what green labels could be trusted.

An investigation by consumer advocate Choice of non-food supermarket items found that there were more than 630 green claims ranging from "natural" to "biodegradable" on 185 items including paper and cleaners.

"The majority of those items had claims that were vague, poorly explained or unsubstantiated," Choice chief executive Peter Kell said. "The two biggest problem areas emerged as household cleaning products and paper/tissue products."

Only 3 of the 185 products claimed to meet the voluntary Australian Standard for Environmental Labelling.

Mr Kell said the voluntary standard for labelling was largely ignored and should be made mandatory. "It's ignored by big brands, small players and even supermarkets with their own label brands," he said.

Investigations by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have already accused Origin Energy, Energy Australia and Saab of greenwashing.

Info from The Age 7 May More examples here and here