Packaging & Labelling
Packaging has been an important focus for environmental concern within marketing for several reasons:
- Packaging is a major component of domestic waste and therefore an important contribution to landfill and discarded packaging is very visible as litter;
- Packaging reduction through approaches such as “light-weighting” can reduce the environmental impact of a product whilst also saving companies money;
- There has been considerable developments in the recycling of key packaging materials including glass bottles, cans and plastics.
Labelling is also important in helping to inform consumers about the environmental and social impacts of products and to help grow particular categories such as FairTrade or organic produce and energy efficient appliances. There are now a wide range of labelling schemes for different type of goods including international schemes, national schemes and others operated by particular industries or companies.
Much of the progress on packaging and labelling in relation to sustainability issues such as health, recycling and energy efficiency has been driven by legislation.
http://www.incpen.org/
INCPEN co-ordinates a network of over 40 trade associations that represent
more than 85% of companies in the packaging chain.
http://www.dti.gov.uk/access/guidehh.htm
This Guide is intended to assist those involved in placing packaged goods on
the market to understand the effect of the Regulations.
http://www.recycledproducts.org.uk/index.htm
NRF is a not-for-profit organisation bringing together industry, manufacturers,
retailers, local authorities, private and public sector institutions, and
the voluntary sector to promote the principles of waste reduction, re-use
and recycling.
http://www.petcore.com/
PET Container Recycling Europe, is a non-profit association aims to facilitate
the economical recovery of plastic containers through collection, reclamation
and development of end uses for post-consumer bottles.
http://www.bir.org/
BIR is an international trade federation representing the world’s recycling
industry, covering in particular ferrous and non-ferrous metals, paper and
textiles.
http://www.pro-e.org/indexflash.htm
This website contains information for commercial, industrial and all other
organisations that are affected by the EU-Directive on packaging waste
http://www.gruener-punkt.de/en/home.php3
Duales System Deutschland AG organises the collection, sorting and recycling
of packaging in line with the specifications of the Packaging Ordinance with
the support of 416 waste management partners in the Federal Republic of Germany.
http://data3.recycle-more.co.uk/recycle3/nav/buildpage.asp?
Recycling information page including packaging labels explained for consumers.
http://www.repak.ie/
Repak is an approved not-for-profit limited company established under a voluntary
agreement between Industry and and local government.
http://www.valpak.co.uk/
The nationwide compliance scheme for the packaging waste regulations.
http://www.letsrecycle.com/
letsrecycle.com is a dedicated website for businesses, local government and
community groups involved in sustainable waste, recycling and waste management.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/consumerprod/glc/index.htm
UK Government information on environmental labels including a “Shopper’s
Guide to Green Labels”
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/consumerprod/ecolabel/index.htm
UK Government guide to European Ecolabel
http://www.greenbiz.com/frame/1.cfm?targetsite=http://www.moea.state.mn.us/publications/transpac.pdf
US report on reducing transport packaging.
http://www.environmentalchoice.com
A national ecolabeling program that awards its EcoLogo to products that
meet specific guidelines.
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/ecolabel/
A voluntary scheme to help consumers in Europe identify officially approved
green products.
http://www.gen.gr.jp
A nonprofit network of ecolabeling organizations worldwide.
http://www.scs1.com
A third-party certifier of the food industry and of the environmentally sound
management of forests, marine habitats, and manufacturing-related businesses