Introduction
Environmental issues are growing day by day, especially since 1960s there has
been increase in pressure on production systems leading to the degradation
of the environment meticulously
Several attempts and ventures are continuously being carried out to minimize
this pressure and trying to move towards more sustainable and
environmentally friendly approaches
So ‘Eco-labelling’ or ‘Environmental labelling’ is one of the recently emerged
approaches that have acquired increasing importance
It informs consumers about the effects on the environment of the
production, consumption and waste phases of the products/services
consumed

Definition
An ecolabel is a label which identifies overall environmental preference of a
product (i.e.good or service) within a product category based on life cycle
considerations
Ecolabelling refers specifically to the provision of information to consumers
about the relative environmental quality of a product

Origin
The origins of ecolabelling was known be found along with the growing
concerns of environmental protection
Initially it was started in developing countries as the commercial enterprises
started to recognize the environmental concerns and tried to translate into a
market advantage
It was started with labels with claims such as “natural”, "recyclable", "eco-
friendly", "low energy", and "recycled content"
Such products attracted consumers who were looking for ways to reduce
adverse environmental impacts through their purchasing choices
But these claims were solely claimed by the manufacturers, some of them
were simply unproven or irrelevant which led people to get confused and
skeptical

Such misleading claims have been branded “Greenwash”
What Is Greenwashing?
“Greenwashing is the process of conveying a false impression or providing misleading
information about how a company's products are more environmentally sound”
▪ It is to make the consumers to believe that the products are environmentally safe but
are actually not
e.g. 1. Claiming the air conditioners as CFC free even after a ban on CFCs to create
impression on the product makes no sense
e.g. 2. An area rug is labeled “50% more recycled content than before” The
manufacturer increased the recycled content from 2% to 3%. Although technically true,
the message conveys the false impression that the rug contains a significant amount of
recycled fiber
e.g. 3. Many food products have packaging that evokes an environmentally friendly
imagery even though there has been no attempt made at lowering the environmental
impact of its production

Consumers spend little time discovering the environmental impact of
products, it is necessary to develop one recognized label they can trust
To minimize such fraudulent claims formation of private and public
organizations providing third-party labelling came into the play
Such labels were now widely known as ‘Eco-labelling’ or ‘Environmental
labelling’
In these typical ecolabelling program, product categories and ecolabelling
criteria are determined by an independent organization with assistance from
a complementary technical advisory group
Companies which want to participate in an ecolabelling program make
application and submit their products for third party compliance testing
and/or verification.
If approved, the companies pay licensing fees for permission to use the
program's distinctive ecolabel symbol for a specified period

Goal
1. Communication of verifiable and accurate
information, that is not misleading, on
environmental aspects of products and
services
2. To encourage the demand for and supply of
those products and services that cause less
stress on the environment
3. Stimulating the potential for market driven
continuous environmental improvement
As has been identified by the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO)

Objectives
I. Protecting the environment :
Ecolabelling seeks to influence the consumer decisions and encourage
the production and consumption of environmentally preferable goods and
services
It serves as market based instrument to
bring about environmental improvement
Encouraging management of renewable
resources to ensure their availability to
future generations
Promoting the efficient use of non-
renewable resources

Facilitating the Reduction, Reuse and
Recycling of industrial, commercial and
consumer waste
Encouraging the protection of ecosystems
and species diversity
Encouraging the proper management of
chemicals in products

II. Encouraging environmentally sound innovation and
leadership
Ecolabelling brings an market incentive to the
environmentally innovative and progressive businesses
By offering such products the manufacturers will get
chance to establish or reinforce themselves in market,
because the costumers show the positive approach
realizing the advantage
Ecolabelling will only reward the top environmental
performers, so to get these rewards the producers or the
service providers will always try to keep their standards
high to compete with others
Along with this the ecolabelling programs will also
gradually raise the standards to keep the pace with new
improvements

III. Building consumer awareness of environmental
issues
Ecolabel provides reliable information on the
environmental impacts of products
It can also promote environmentally beneficial
actions

Types of Labels (ISO)
Type I - Ecolabelling schemes (ISO 14024)
Multiple criteria based approach of the concerned product
These labels are the products of third party certification programmes and they
are usually government supported
It is aimed to award excellence in the market place in terms of environmental
performance
These labels refer to the environmental quality of a product compared with
the rest of the products
They are meant to encourage a switch towards more environmentally friendly
consumption habits
These labels are voluntary

Type II - Self-declared environmental claims
(ISO 14021)
It is made without independent third-party
certification, by manufacturers, importers,
distributors, retailers or anyone else likely to
benefit from such a claim
Brands are the certifiers, that have innate wish to
communicate a promise to the customer
Can provide credibility for environmental claims
that manufacturers, marketeers and re-sellers can
make for products or services.
These labels consist of one-sided informative
environmental claims

Type III - Environmental declarations (ISO 14025)
Declare the life-cycle environmental impact of their product
Voluntary declarations based on quantified environmental data
Use pre-set indices - how those data are achieved and how they are depicted
Give quantified information about products based on independent
verification
They are also set by third-party agencies
The international Environmental Product Declarations (EPD®) certify both
products and production processes according to different criteria that relate
to the entire life cycle of the product
Set of criteria for how to present the data to make the footprint of the
product
Although it is not ambitious level to express the excellence in the market

ISO 14020 series
Standard Description Application
ISO 14020 Environmental Labeling: General
Principles
• Sets out nine general principles that apply not
only to labeling schemes but to all
environmental claims,
• designed to promote accurate,
• verifiable and relevant information
ISO 14021 Environmental Labels and
Declarations: Self-Declaration
Environmental Claims, Terms and
Definitions
• Sets out requirements for Type II labels, i.e.
environmental claims made for goods and
services by the producer
ISO 14022 Environmental Labels and
Declarations: Self-Declaration
Environmental Claims, Symbols
• Promotes the standardization of terms and
symbols used in environmental claims, e.g.
'recycled content'

ISO 14023 Environmental Labels and
Declarations: Self-Declaration
Environmental Claims, Testing and
Verification
(Currently under review)
ISO 14024 Environmental Labels and
Declarations: Environmental
Labeling Type I, Guiding Principles
and Procedures
• Features the principles and procedures for
selecting product categories, product -
environmental criteria
• Product-function characteristics and for assessing
and demonstrating compliance
• It also establishes the certification procedures for
awarding the label.
ISO 14025 Environmental labels
and declarations – Type III
environmental declarations
– Principles and procedures
• Establishes the principles and procedures for
developing the data for such declarations and the
requirements for declaration programmes,
including the requirement that data are
independently verified.

GEN: The Global Ecolabelling Network
The internationally recognized network of ecolabelling
organizations
GEN was founded in 1994
The Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) is a non-profit
association of leading ecolabelling organizations
worldwide.
It is composed of 27 ecolabelling organizations,
representing nearly 60 countries and territories and 2
associate members
Aim: To help protect the environment by improving,
promoting, and developing the ecolabelling of green
products and sustainable services

Functions of GEN
Fosters co-operation, information exchange and standards harmonisation
among members, associates, and other ecolabelling programmes
Participates in international organizations in order to promote ecolabelling
Encourages demand and supply of more environmentally responsible goods
and services
Membership
Full GEN members have attained the status of "Type 1" specified in the ISO
14024 standard. This means:
Their ecolabelling programmes are voluntary
Their standards address multiple environmental criteria over the life cycle of
a product or service
Standards are published and transparent
Ecolabels are awarded using independent third-party verification

Benefits of GEN Membership
Strengthens credibility of member programmes, helps prevent green-washing
Simplifies criteria development, improves quality, expands market for similar
products
Encourages mutual recognition and promotes trade
Expands influence and awareness of individual member programmes
internationally
Enables shared knowledge, experience exchange, best practices, enhances
trust

ISEAL -
Created in 2002
It is the global membership organization for credible
sustainability standards
Sustainability standards that meet their codes of good
practices are certified
Its mission is to strengthen sustainability standards
systems for the benefit of people and the environment
It currently has 22 full members, 4 associate members
and 116 subscribers
Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC) are also active members of
ISEAL
International Social and Environmental
Accreditation and Labelling Alliance

MSC -
It was founded in 1996, situated in London (UK)
MSC is a certification and eco-labelling program for
sustainable seafood from wild fisheries
They work with fisheries, seafood companies, scientists,
conservation groups and the public to promote the best
environmental choice in seafood globally
MSC’s standards cover sustainable fishing and seafood
traceability
The MSC environmental standard was developed over two
years through a consultative process involving more than
300 expert organizations and individuals around the world
They ensure that MSC-labelled seafood comes from, and
can be traced back to, sustainable fisheries.
Marine Stewardship Council

Fisheries that wish to demonstrate they are well-managed and sustainable are
assessed by a team of experts who are independent of both the fishery and
the MSC
Seafood products can display the blue MSC ecolabel only if that seafood can
be traced back through the supply chain to a fishery that has been certified
against the MSC standard
As of February 2016, there are over 20,000 seafood products available with
the MSC ecolabel, sold in around 100 countries around the world
As of May 2016, there are over 280 fisheries that have been independently
certified as meeting the MSC's environmental standard for sustainable fishing
and over 90 are currently undergoing assessment
The Marine Stewardship Council is a program for wild fisheries and does not
include aquaculture production

MSC certified Shrimp/Prawn
Shrimp and prawn carrying the blue MSC label are certified sustainable
MSC labelled shrimp and prawn come from fisheries that have been
independently assessed to the MSC Fisheries Standard
Companies using the label all along the supply chain have been assessed to
ensure products can be traced back to an MSC certified fishery.
Shrimp and prawn are central to various cuisines from different cultures, with
many MSC certified products sold in restaurants and shops worldwide
India has no MSC certified Shrimp/Prawn fishery

Click
here for
details
Map showing the MSC certified Shrimp/Prawn

Click here for
full article>>>

It was founded in 2010 by the World Wide Fund for
Nature (WWF) and the Dutch Sustainable Trade
Initiative (IDH)
ASC is an independent, international non-profit
organization
It manages the world’s leading certification and labelling
programme for responsible aquaculture
The ASC's Vision is "World where aquaculture plays a
major role in supplying food and social benefits for
mankind whilst minimizing negative impacts on the
environment"
ASC - Aquaculture Stewardship Council

Their mission is "To transform aquaculture towards environmental
sustainability and social responsibility using efficient market mechanisms
that create value across the chain."
In order for an aquatic farm to be certified by the ASC, a comprehensive
series of criteria must be fulfilled;
Including pre-assessment,
On-site farm audit and
An audit report
The ASC has standards for the 12 following species groups: Abalone, bivalves
(clams, mussels, oysters and scallops), freshwater trout, pangasius, salmon,
seriola and cobia, shrimp, and tilapia

Certification
The ASC certifies all the above 12 different species groups
In May 2018, the ASC-certified volume had reached 1.4 million tonnes
(including close to 750,000t of salmon, 202,000t of pangasius, 156,000t of
tilapia, 141,000t of bivalves, 113,000t of shrimp).
Certified ASC products are now available around the world in Austria,
Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy,
Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland and the United Kingdom
There are over 100 bivalve farms ASC-certified, 250 salmon farms and others
621 farms in total as of May 2018 with over 200 currently in assessment

Single attribute labels
Dolphin safe label
The label denotes the fish catch, especially Tuna are caught
dolphin free
Adopted by exporters of Tuna of many countries
More than 90,000 dolphins estimated to be killed annually in
tuna fisheries worldwide
This was first proposed in 1990 by the organization Earth Island
Institute and tuna companies in the US
This standard was incorporated into the Marine Mammal
Protection Act later that year as the Dolphin Protection
Consumer Information Act.
Now more than 700 companies have pledged to adhere this
standard

Turtle-Free Shrimp
In 1994, the WTO intervened to address member
concerns regarding the import of shrimp and its impact
on turtles
For the protection of endangered sea turtles
Prohibition of the importation of shrimp that was
produced without Turtle Excluder Device (TED)
technology

Other eco-labels in fisheries
• Swiss based non-profit organization
• Concentrating mainly on SWISS market
• Sustainability and fair trade
• Promoted by the Earth island institute
• Leading certification standard for products and services to protect marine
environment
• The certification awards sustainable practices in Fisheries, Aquaculture, Fishmeal
and ω-3 fishoil
• Also promotes pilot projects related to restaurants, sustainable shipping, whale
and dolphin-watching, aquaria, ornamental fish, etc.
• Sweden's most well-known eco-label
• Encourage organic market by developing organic standards
• Developed standard for sustainable fishery
• Certification is applicable for the stock & individual fishing vessels that can fish in
a certified stock

• Program of Sustainable Seafood Canada
• To raise consumer awareness about the importance of buying seafood from
sustainable sources
• Evaluates fisheries based on habitat/ecosystem impacts, stock status, inherent
vulnerability
• Standards specifically protect biodiversity and worker rights within a program
that addresses environmental, social, food safety and traceability issues
throughout producers' operations
• Certification is currently available for shrimp farms and hatcheries, and seafood
processing plants

Eco-labelling in India
The Government of India has also decided to institute a
scheme of labelling of Environment Friendly Products
'Ecomark' in 1991
It is administered by the Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS)
Ecomark signifies that the product, which carries it,
does the least damage to the environment
Unfortunately there is lack of consumer awareness and
it is not popular.
The government ought to take steps to popularise it.
Perhaps one of the first step could be to make Ecomark
or similar ecolabel mandatory for government, semi
government, and government sponsored purchases

10 fisheries from India bag eco-labelling certification from MSC, London
Click here for Link to
full article >>>Considering their commercial value in overseas markets,
10 marine fisheries from India have been identified as the
targeted fishery for securing the eco-labelling
certification of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC),
London.
1. Blue swimming crab caught in gillnet from
Mandapam, Tamilnadu
2. Shrimp by trawl from Kollam
3. Red ring shrimp by trawl from Kollam
4. Squid by trawl from Kollam
5. Flower shrimp by trawl from Mandapam
6. Cuttlefish by trawl from Kollam
7. Lobster by trap from Nagercoil
8. Lobster by trap from Kanyakumari
9. Skipjack tuna by hook and line from Lakshadweep
10. Japanese threadfin bream by trawl from the south
west coast

Ashtamudi clams fetch more
Short-neck clam fisheries of Ashtamudi
garneredan eco-label from the Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC)
A first MSC certified fisheries in India
Clams function as bio-filters for Ashtamudi
Understanding the value chain and a comparison
between pre and post management of the
fishery points to the advantages of certification
The Ashtamudi estuary, a 61 sq km Ramsar Site,
provides livelihood for about 3,000 locals.
The estimated value of fishery resources of the
lake is `985 million (US$ 16.4m), of which 51%
comes from clams.

Findings
The amount of nutrients released in the water where clam beds exist was thrice
as much as nonclam zones.
With more clams, it takes 139 days to filter the lake water completely, as
opposed to 277 days when clam abundance is poor

With MSC certification, it is feasible to shift to new export markets such as
Europe and Japan.
A change in processing and marketing of clams can improve livelihood security
for fishers and boost the export value from the present US$ 1 million
A change in product from clam meat to whole clams can lead to 75% increase
in revenue.

References
About the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, https://www.asc-aqua.org
Galarraga Gallastegui, I., 2002. The use of eco‐labels: a review of the literature. European
Environment, 12(6), pp.316-331.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaculture_Stewardship_Council
https://fisheries.msc.org/en/fisheries/@@search?q=shrimp+prawn&search=&_ga=2.1304610
07.1586242695.1590069206-1678900183.1587887573
https://globalecolabelling.net/
https://www.ecolabelindex.com/ecolabels/?st=category,fish_fisheries
https://www.iisd.org/business/markets/eco_label_iso14020.aspx
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/greenwashing.asp
https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:14020:ed-2:v1:en
Mohamed, K.S., Kripa, V., Narayanakumar, R., Prema, D., Venkatesan, V., Malayilethu, V., Jenni,
B. and Saji Kumar, K.K., 2016. Ashtamudi clams fetch more.

Network, G.E., 2004. Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) information paper: introduction to
ecolabelling. Ottawa, Canada: Global Ecolabelling Network.
Webinar: Ecolabel, what is that? And how to develop a new ecolabel?
https://youtu.be/HGrxpC_PS1A