Puzzling claims

DO ECO-MARKS and green logos endorsed on products really help the consumer tomake an environment-friendly choice? May be not. A recent survey by the NationalConsumer Council in UK has found that green claims on products had the consumersbaffled. Sample a few: Dishwasher liquid: "Easy on the environment"- ClearSpring; Bleach bottle: "This bottle is made of polyethylene and contains more than25 per cent recycled plastic" - Domestos; and Water: "The Hildon source lies deepwithin chalk hills... fully protected from the environment" - Hildon.

Such confusing statements only made the consumers cynical and most even gaveup trying to purchase green products, according to the survey. The concept of recy-cling was something which led consumers to think twice on buying the product.Almost all products apparently had recycled logos. The report stated that "while intheory plastic bottles and cans are recyclable - almost everything is - in practice,very few local authorities have the facilities to recycle either. So unless the consumertakes them to a special collection centre, the claim will be meaningless." Therefore, itconcludes that environmental claims are "often woolly, unverifiable, open to multiple interpretations, of no real benefit, or downright dishonest."

The survey also found that buyers tendedto respect those statements backed by well JAghll',known organisations like the World WideFund for Nature (wwF) or the Friends of theeyeEarth. The report finally suggests that theshould be a legislation to bring such dubiousclaims to book, or else, to create a separate T4environmental claims act.