BEUC NEWS - 21.11.2018

The European Commission has published new figures showing the growing availability of EU Ecolabel products, the official European label for greener products. It is worth noting that in just 2 years, the number of EU Ecolabel products available across Europe has nearly doubled (85% rise).

It means EU consumers get an ever-broader choice of environmentally-friendly products and services. They include detergents, diapers, kitchen rolls, tissues, printing paper and even shoes and accommodation. This is good news for consumers as they increasingly care for the environment. A survey from 2017 found that one third of respondents consider ecolabels in their purchasing decisions. More than three-quarters of respondents trust that products carrying the EU ecolabel are environmentally-friendly (79%).

Here are some takeaways from the new figures (September 2017 to September 2018):

• The number of Ecolabel products has grown on average by 32% over the last year (from 54,000 to 71,700 products).
• Products for which criteria were newly developed are rising quickly. Converted paper (e.g. stationary paper) has nearly tripled (+258%) and absorbent hygiene products (e.g. diapers) went up by 26%.
• Ecolabel textiles, tissue paper and rinse-off cosmetic products (such as shampoo) are growing steadily.
• The label is still widespread for flagship categories such as paper products, paints and detergents.
• Drops are temporary as they represent categories where criteria were tightened. For instance, the number of Ecolabels hotels went down from 817 to 705 between Sept 2017 and March 2018 and recently went up to 766 establishments. The criteria became more ambitious in 2016 which can explain the drop. The new applications that are being processed could inflate the next statistics.
• The Ecolabel is to expand to new areas including financial services, as the EU Commission is working on a new strategy to cover more product groups and services.

See all EU Commission figures here
BEUC factsheet about the label here