SWITCH-Asia MAG Winter 2016/17 on Circular Economy. (c) SWITCH-Asia Network Facility. Design: Elmar Sander and Katharina Olma

<strong>SWITCH</strong>-<strong>Asia</strong> <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2016</strong>/<strong>17</strong>
<strong>SWITCH</strong>-<strong>Asia</strong> project ECOLEBAN
Developing eco-labelling
for the leather footwear sector
in Bangladesh
By Ainara Garcia Uriarte and Javier del Pozo
Eco-labelling is a voluntary certification
method that measures
the environmental impact of a
product or service. The International
Standards Organisation (ISO) has classified
existing environmental labels into
three typologies – Type I, II and III –
and has specified the preferential
principles and procedures for each
(ISO 14020 series).
Eco-labelling and
the circular economy
Eco-labels promote the transition to a
circular economy, supporting both sustainable
production and consumption.
As recognised in the 2014 European
Union’s scoping study to identify potential
circular economy actions, priority
sectors, material flows and value chains,
the eco-label is one of the information
tools that supports the circular economy.
Thanks to eco-labelling, consumers
can make informed choices. Domestic
and international consumers increasingly
purchase products that meet their
preferences for quality, eco-friendliness
and sustainable production. The need
for simple, reliable and unambiguous
Type I: Ecolabels Type II: Green Claims Type III: Environmental
impact
Type I: like
• Product declaration
of companies
not independently
verified
• Risk of
greenwashing
Figure 1: Environmental labels classification, Source: UNOPS, 2009 1
information about products has become
a consumer demand. Misleading, meaningless
or unclear information can result
in consumers losing confidence in environmental
claims and labels, leading
to unfair business competition and
discouraging companies from making
truthful claims, which often happens.
• Product information
conveyed
through a list of
parameters
• No evaluation,
just data
24
All pictures are made available by the ECOLEBAN project.
1) UNOPS, 2009. A GUIDE TO ENVIRONMENTAL LABELS – for Procurement Practitioners of the United Nations System