In 2022 it will be 30 years since the launch of the EU Ecolabel, the ecological label of the European Union for all those products and services that are neither food nor medical. Throughout this time, it has become a guarantee of reliability and transparency, against green image washing or greenwashing. The criteria for obtaining it are strict and are updated every five years.
However, the economic and time investment to obtain it has a low return for the companies, according to the sources consulted. The reality is that it is still little known by most consumers. In addition, for the majority of buyers, the price factor has even more weight than environmental awareness.
"In general, there is very little demand for this type of certification because they have a cost and consumer recognition is low," says Jordi Oliver, from the consulting firm Inèdit Innovació.
This is confirmed by the company Wet
In Catalonia, the responsibility for awarding the EU Label lies with the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of the Generalitat. María José Sarrias Galcerán, head of the Environmental Qualification service, highlights the "requirement" of the criteria of the label and the "trust" it offers as it is an "official" and "European" badge. However, Sarrias points out that "although it is relatively well known, it is not so much as the label that certifies that a food or drink comes from organic agricultural production."
A study by the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) finds "a mismatch between the best known seals (and recognized by consumers) and the most reliable." In the same report, it is concluded that “the recognition of a logo does not mean that users know what it means”. They give as an example the label formed by a triangle of green arrows (Möbius): “It turned out to be the second most familiar to those surveyed, but the general idea is that the logo indicates that a product is recyclable, when it simply indicates that it is made of recycled materials. that can be recycled, but in no case that this is the usual thing and what really happens”.
Returning to the birthday label, from Catalonia the EU Ecolabel has been awarded to 3,825 products and services (4% of the total of the European Union). More than half (62.7%) correspond to paints and varnishes. "Mandatory legislation in some sectors, such as paints and varnishes, is so strict that they already meet the EU Ecolabel criteria," explains Sarrias. In second place are paper products (23.9%) and, in third place, cleaning products (11.7%).
