Environmental labels seem to give rise to a great deal of confusion, which is a concern, considering they were originally created to make life simpler for consumers! The most common questions I hear relate to why there are so many, and what exactly does each label mean - how do you know which is the greenest product when faced with such an array? These pages will, I hope shed some light on the selection that are commonly applied in the print and paper supply chain in the UK.

First, we'll look at the purpose behind labels and how they are awarded, and then why there are so many and what the different labels mean.

Eco-labels were intended as a tool for selecting environmentally preferable goods and services without having to find out all the details yourself. There are three different types:

• Labels that have requirements set by an independent body, based on looking at the lifecycle of a product and determining where the main impacts lie. Criteria are set that the product must meet - for example, levels of pollutants that they must not exceed, or percentages of particular types of content that they must achieve, or chemicals that they must not use. The organisation seeking the label has to prove they meet the requirements - and usually pay a fee for the assessment. Companies who are able to meet the criteria will therefore not always apply for a label. Examples of this type of label are the EU Eco-label, Nordic Swan and FSC.
• Labels that are simply declarations made by the manufacturer or retailer - known as 'green claims'. There are no set criteria that a product has to meet, and no independent checking of the claim. There are, however, codes of practice and Defra publish guidance for the UK.
• The third type are Environmental Product Declarations. These give quantified information about a product, and are again based on the lifecycle. Specific topics that are important to that product are selected for measuring - for example, air emissions during manufacture, or energy consumption. This type of label allows products to be compared. An example of this type of label is the Paper Profiles scheme.

There are also certification schemes for environmental management, which are very different, and are described later in this section, as are 'carbon neutral' labels.

One of the reasons that there are so many is that they are very specific.  Even if, like the EU Eco-label (the 'flower'), they are applied to many different products, the criteria for each label type will only be relevant to a particular aspect of the product, or a specific manufacturing process.

Some labels are highly specialised: paper labels, for example, that only cover recycled content, or forest management.

Even those that are lifecycle based, such as the EU Eco-label, will vary. The environmental impacts of manufacturing paper are very different for those in printing, and different papers also vary, so a paper label will consider different topics and will also set different levels for use of water or energy, based on what is achievable for that particular industry. So there are different labels for different products; in this particular case, Copying and Graphic Paper, Tissue Paper and, soon to be published, Printed Products.

The diagram shows a very summarised version of the life cycle of a printed product to indicate where the various more common labels apply.