It does exactly what it says on the tin...but is it green enough?

WITH so many products on offer in the shops nowadays, how do consumers know whether they are buying products that are environmentally friendly?

We are all encouraged to shop around to obtain the best price, and some shops even compare their prices to their competitors.

But if price is not your main criterion for selecting a product, how do you compare environmental credentials?

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Since environmental considerations are less easy to compare, most manufacturers and retailers have relied on "eco-labelling" schemes to establish the green credentials of the products on offer.

In most cases, these work by setting a standard or specification that the product has to meet in order to qualify for the label.

This then reassures the consumer that they are purchasing a product that has been tested rigorously.

Fine in theory, of course, but take a look around our supermarkets, DIY stores and electrical retailers, in particular, and you will find a plethora of different labelling schemes for different retailing sectors.

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In food, there are Fairtrade, Red Tractors, Soil Association, Vegetarian, Lion, Freedom Food and Marine Stewardship labels to name just a few.

Electrical items may display Energy Stars, Energy Ratings, Efficiency Awards and WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment labels).

There are others, such as FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), Watermarque (for water-efficient appliances) and Rug Mark for carpets.

The number of labels continues to swell each year, providing a bewildering array of schemes that have different standards, with a lot of overlap for some groups of products.

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Taking the fairly mundane example of eggs, there are at least four labelling schemes covering this product.

The Lion Quality scheme was introduced in 1988 in response to the salmonella scare for which Edwina Currie so famously put her foot in it.

This label is designed to reassure consumers that the eggs come from flocks of chickens that have been immunised against salmonella enteritidis, and is accompanied by a sell-by date.

It does not signify that the egg has come from a free-range chicken.

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Nor does the use of a Red Tractor logo mean that the egg is free-range, since this scheme has different standards of welfare from the Freedom Food logo used by the RSPCA.

An egg from a Freedom Food chicken may not be organic, though; this is where the Soil Association logo is the only guarantee.

Confused? Lost interest?

Most consumers don't spend huge amounts of time researching different eco-labelling schemes and may well base their choices on schemes that may not be as environmentally friendly as the labelling organisation would like people to believe.

Although labelling schemes have allowed consumers to make more informed choices, it is important to make a distinction between industry-led and independent schemes.

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The latter are normally a better indication of the environmental credentials of the product because they generally have more rigorous standards.

If in doubt about the scheme, check with the accreditors as most will be happy to provide details of their standards and most are published on their own websites.