Environmentally friendly (also eco-friendly, nature friendly, and green) are synonyms used to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment.^[1] To make consumers aware, environmentally friendly goods and services often are marked with eco-labels. But because there is no single international standard for this concept, the International Organization for Standardization considers such labels too vague to be meaningful.^[2]

Contents 1 Regional variants 1.1 Europe 1.2 North America 1.3 Oceania 1.4 International 2 See also 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Regional variants

[edit] Europe

Products located in members of the European Union can use the EU's Eco-label pending the EU's approval.^[3] EMAS is another EU label^[4] that signifies whether an organization management is green as opposed to the product.^[5] Germany also uses the Blue Angel, based on Germany's standards.^[6]

[edit] North America

In the United States, environmental marketing claims require caution. Ambiguous titles such as environmentally friendly can be confusing without a specific definition; some regulators are providing guidance.^[7]

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has deemed this language useless in determining whether a product is truly "green".^[2]

In Canada, one label is that of the Environmental Choice Program.^[6] Created in 1988,^[8] only products approved by the program are allowed to display the label.^[9]

[edit] Oceania

The Energy Rating Label is a Type III label^[10][11] that provides information on "energy service per unit of energy consumption".^[12] It was first created in 1986, but negotiations led to a redesign in 2000.^[13]

[edit] International

Energy Star is a program with a primary goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.^[14] Energy Star has different sections for different nations or areas, including the United States,^[15] the European Union ^[16] and Australia.^[17] The program, which was founded in the United States, also exists in Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and Taiwan.^[18]

[edit] See also

Design for Environment Environmental Choice Program Environmental enterprise

Green brands Greener festivals List of environmental organizations

Sustainable development portal Environment portal

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Hugsmovement Eco Lifestyle
• Global Action Plan - Go Green
• Directory of Environmentally Friendly Companies and Organizations