ECOMARK (CONSUMERISM)

WHO IS A CONSUMER?

A consumer is a person who purchases or buys good or avails services for their
own and personal use for some consideration.

CONSUMERISM?

Protection the interests of consumers from the exploitation of the big

businessman is important.

The big businessman are involved in unfair practices for their own monetary
benefit such as supply of substandard quality, adulteration etc. in order to
reduce the cost of production the manufacturers do not maintain a minimum
standard quality for products and tend to use harmful materials causing harm
not only to the health of the consumers but also affecting the environment.

Ex; lifebuoy soap, dove shampoos, red bull.

PRODUCTS AFFECTING THE ENVIRONMENT??

What is eco labelling?

Eco label is an important market-based instrument to influence the behaviour of consumers
and industries in favour of environmentally friendly products and thus contribute to
environmental conservation. An eco-label is a label which identifies overall environmental
preference of a product or service. It is a voluntary method of environmental performance
certification and labelling that is practiced around the world.

It is awarded by third party that authorises the uses of environmental labels on products
indicating overall environment preferrablity of product within a particular product category
based on life cycle considerations.

Ecolabels are used to identify the overall environmental preference of a product or a service. The
main rivals to such ecolabels are “green” symbols or self-declarations developed by manufacturers
and service providers. However, these are often specious claims and today retail outlets continue to
be flush with herbal cosmetics, non-toxic soaps, eco-friendly detergents, CFC-free refrigerators, and
biodegradable cleaning solutions1 . Their authenticity is anybody’s bet, coming as they do without a
credible ecolabel.

Eco-labels and Green Stickers are labeling systems for food and consumer
products. . They are a form of sustainability measurement directed at consumers,
intended to make it easy to take environmental concerns into account when
shopping.

UNION EARTH SUMMIT CONFERENCE (1992)

The concept was globally endorsed in 1992 at United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED), where governments agreed to “encourage expansion of environmental
labelling and other environmentally related product information programmes designed to assist
consumers to make informed choices”.

Sustainable Initiatives[edit]
During the UN Earth Summit[6] Conference in 1992, an international consensus was generated to integrate
environmental issues into manufacturing procedures. The idea was to manipulate consumption patterns in order to
achieve sustainable development. The result of this is as follows.
Currently in the developed world: Eco-labels and green stickers have evolved to play a vital role. They provide a
verifiable link between products and informed consumer wishes. This approach applies market pressure on industries to
minimize their environmental impact; this is evidenced by the growth in the population of informed consumers.
Marketing strategists are responding with Green Certifications and its abuse, Greenwashing.
Currently in the developing world: First consumers became concerned about the quality, safety and environmental
sustainability of food and supported demand for green foods, then focused on the environmental effects of agriculture
and globalization of food production, which led to the exposure of globally controlled food regimes. Consumer advocate
groups responded with a call for [Alternative Food Networks]. [7] This gives a new dimension to consumer demands and
corporate competitiveness.

ECO LABELLING SCHEMES AROUND THE WORLD

The efficacy of ecolabelling in inducing a market-based incentive for environment friendly
production was recognised when the first ecolabelled products were launched in Germany in the
late 1970s. Gradually but relatively at a slow phase its importance was also felt by a number of
developing countries, including Brazil, India, Indonesia and Thailand.

ECO MARK
 On feb 21, 1991, The Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF), Government of India
launched its own ecolabelling scheme called “Ecomark” for labelling of environment friendly
products and to set standards aimed at the least impct on the eco system.
 The EPA (ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT 1986) was enacted under the provisions of art
253 of the constitution and empowers central government to take all such measures for the
protection and improvement of the quality of the environment.

 The voluntary label is awarded to consumer goods, which meet the specified environmental
criteria and the quality requirements of Indian Standards.

 Although the Ecomark is similar in many ways to ecolabels of other countries, it differs from
most in one important aspect; whereas ecolabels in most countries are awarded solely on
the basis of environmental considerations. In India, it is also linked with the quality of
products. In other words, in order to be eligible, products must meet both environmental
and quality criteria.

In Canada too, a similar approach was adopted, however it was not mandatory that an
environmental label should necessarily be accompanied with a quality label.
 It is a certification mark and the logo is of an earthen pot.

REASONS BEHIND STARTING THE SCHEME

The Scheme was initially designed to operate on a national basis and provide accreditation and
labelling for household and other consumer products that would meet certain environmental criteria
along with the quality requirements of Indian standards for that product

Objectives of the mark

 One of the purposes of the mark is increasing awareness among the consumers
towards reducing environment impact. The mark is issued to various product
categories and the development of standards for more products is in progress.
 Concern for reducing the adverse environmental impact of increasing consumer
products, especially disposal of garbage. •
 Encouraging sustainable management of resources and ultimately improving the
quality of the environment. •
 Successful advocacy by consumer bodies.
 Political will of the Government.
 Need for clear and credible guidance regarding products that are environment
friendly

2.3 Main Objectives of the Ecomark Scheme

 The MoEF took into account the above factors and set out the following major objectives
while devising the Ecomark Scheme:
• to provide an incentive for manufacturers to reduce adverse environmental impact of
products;

• to reward genuine initiatives by companies to reduce adverse environmental impact of their

products and processes;

• to assist consumers to become environmentally responsible by providing sufficient information

to take account of environmental factors in their purchasing decisions;

• to encourage citizens to purchase products, which have less harmful environmental impacts;
and

• to improve the quality of the environment and to encourage the sustainable management of
resources.

To assist consumers to become environmentally responsible in their daily lives by providing

information to take account of environmental factors in their purchase decisions.

• To encourage citizens to purchase products which have less harmful environmental impacts?

• Ultimately to improve the quality of the environment and to encourage the sustainable
management of resources.

Product specification under eco mark scheme

While determining the product specific requirements, the following issues have been taken into
account:

• production process including source of raw materials;

• use of natural resources;

• likely impact of the environment; 115 Int. J. Pharm. Med. & Bio. Sc. 2012 N S Raman et al.,
2012

• energy conservation in the production of the product;

• effect and extent of waste arising from the production process;

• disposal of the product and its container;

• utilization of “Waste” and recycled materials;

• suitability for recycling or packaging; and

• biodegradability

The first Ecomark was awarded some five years ago to a ‘Godrej’ product, “Ezee,” a liquid
detergent for washing special /delicate fabrics (such as silk and wool). Later, ‘Ecomark’ was
awarded to Bharat Paper Limited, Bilaspur for the two types of writing and printing paper. Apart
from this some hotels in India are opting for “Ecotel” a third party certification program for eco
friendly hotels.

There are 16 product categories that come under the scheme and 132 sub products. PRODUCT
CATEGORIES-

Reasons why ecomark scheme did not work in India.

 government officials and members of the Steering Committee (the makers of the Scheme)
viewed that the Ecomark started as a pollution prevention tool. At the same time, there
were differing opinions among industry leaders, some of whom felt that it was a leadership8
tool while others considered it was a marketing tool. In light of these differing positions, it
could be said that the Scheme was not positioned appropriately during the launch, and
neither was it marketed properly thereafter.
 POLITICAL WILL BEHIND THE ECO MARK
The activism of the Minister of Environment and Forests, Maneka Gandhi in 1990-91 was,
certainly, one of the major factors behind the constitution of the Scheme. Besides being a
politician, she was also an environmental activist. Her immediate successor, Kamal Nath,
was also very supportive towards the Scheme. However, his successors were not as active
and did not show the similar zeal and enthusiasm in implementing the Scheme. After that
only a few instances of interventions from politicians were traced; as a former Member of
Parliament felt, “no political party has had a clear cut agenda for pushing the Indian Ecomark
Scheme”11. This view is supported by the CPCB, consumer and environmental groups. This
indifferent attitude, shown by a majority of political leaders, was conceivably one of the
major reasons for the failure of the Ecomark Scheme.

 STRINGENT PROCEDURE -The whole process of developing criteria to the grant of an

Ecomark licence is certainly complex and time consuming. As a consequence, it was found
that, due to the complex process, during the initial years after the launch of the Scheme,
proper attention could not be given by the three bodies to popularise the Scheme in an
effective manner.
 CORRUPT SPCB INSPECTORS- However, it is seen that some industries face problems while
acquiring the consent/environmental clearance certificate from the concerned SPCB. The
issue of the ubiquitous corrupt practices has arisen with some of the SPCB inspectors. “If any
unit sets up and operates an effluent treatment plant but still find that they have to bribe
the SPCB inspectors, then they would not want to incur the additional cost by operating the
effluent treatment plant but only bribe their way through. In the process the environment
suffers”, said an environmental researcher23. The current situation requires complete
overhaul; yet it must be mentioned that the problem is not purely limited to the Ecomark
scheme.
 On the supply side, a critical problem is that proponents of certification of products/firms as
‘green’ focus only on firms/sectors that come under the purview of such programmes i.e.
product categories included under the Scheme. In the process, they ignore impacts of
certification programmes on sectors of the economy that are not covered under the product
category list. The Indian Ecomark Scheme is also not free from this limitation. Unless
products categories are chosen in accordance with the existing economic, social and cultural
conditions of the country as well as geographic and climatic factors, it is most likely to fall
short in reaching the desired objective and in some cases even adversely affect the desired
objective25. Hence, judicious selection of product categories is of utmost
importance to ensure that a Scheme fulfils its desired objective. In fact, the approach should
have been piecemeal by starting with very few products whose production or usage or
disposal is highly polluting.
For example, the German Blue Angel scheme was launched with toilet paper, whose
manufacture involved; a) cutting down trees; and b) disposal was highly polluting. The TV
campaign launched by the agency showed the river Rhine under severe attack by toilet
paper being flushed down from the city sewerage system and clogging the clear waters.
Germans and others on the river Rhine have an emotional attachment with the river. Hence,
the message went down clearly and consumers switched to toilet paper, which was made
from recycled fibres and could degrade fast without choking the river.

 CONSUMER ATTITUDE OF BUY CHEAP RATHER THAN BUY GREEN is a major

impediment in promotion of Indian Ecomark.”27
 Secondly, there are consumers who are not concerned about the environmental friendliness
of products and are guided by many other market factors such as the price criterion. In India,
the second class of consumers represents most of the population.

Suggestions
The major recommendations include creating a market for products with Ecomark by the use of the government's
procurement policies giving preference to products with Ecomark, increase the involvement of non-government
organisations (NGOs) and consumer groups in generation of consumer awareness; to provide financial and
technical support to industry to adopt environment-friendly technologies.

In the interest of the Scheme the procedure for awarding licence for the eco-friendly products needs
to be simplified.

The requirement of the ISI mark should not be mandatory for the award of the Ecomark.

Judicial selection of the product

To make sure that the prices should be reduced.

• Second, products have to comply with BIS’s quality standards before being able to apply for the
Ecomark. The BIS standards add another layer of regulation and approvals for manufacturers, which
are perceived as a burden with few immediate benefits. Additionally, industry has complained that
India’s Ecomark has not done enough to involve it in product criteria development. Industry feels the
Indian Government has ‘rushed through’ with the Ecomark

Services to be included in the scheme

“Over the last few years, some service industries like hotels have been advertising the
environmentally friendly practices being pursued by some of their units such as Ecotel, Green Globe,
etc. Inclusion of such services might breathe life to the popularity of the Scheme”, remarked an
industry representative29. At para 2.1 above, it has been mentioned that in Germany and Sweden
train services have also been awarded the Blue Angel.

Lesser number of products but the products which impact the most on the environment. As 16
categories and sub are too large to begin with stringency of criteria is a double-edged sword and
unless handled properly could lead to difficulty in the implementation of the Scheme.

 Lack of awareness and consumer awareness continued to be poor in the absence of a

national communication strategy
 Providing incentives for the Ecomark award;
 Reorientation of the rationale of the Ecomark Scheme; b) Prioritisation of product
categories;
 Mass awareness programme;
 Resolution of any inconsistency between the BIS criteria and Ecomark criteria;
 De relinking of ISI mark from eco amrk
 ) A massive consumer awareness building exercise for creation of a market d) Simplification
of procedures in awarding the Ecomark
 “There must be brand equity or at least some kind of brand image for Ecomark to work as an
effective marketing tool.
 Suitable promotional tools and techniques have to be devised to promote Ecomark amongst
individual consumers and institutional buyers.

NGOs feel that unless and until awareness is created among the public at large, consumer demand
will not be generated

• Privatisation: There should be a reduction and prioritisation of the number of selected product
categories to be included under the Scheme. Intermediate goods should continue to be considered
under the Scheme. The product categories to be chosen should be based on certain measurable
parameters such as maximum adverse environmental impact, and high national consumption.
However, there should be a system that determines whether to include new product categories
under the Scheme given the dynamics of the environment.
Awareness: Last but certainly not the least, an effective National Awareness Campaign should be
carried out to raise both consumer and industrial awareness and demand for the Ecomark. The
campaign should be carried out on a continuous basis to set in motion a market for green products.

However, lack of information and ineffective regulation has resulted in ‘green washing’ -
corporations making misleading claims about the environmental benefits of their products or
organization. Vague and misleading claims leave the consumer confused and distrustful of such
labels.

Targeting and reaching consumers in a developing country like ours is an extremely difficult task
even today. It is because the population is still largely rural, poor and has less access to various
media than in more developed countries. As a result they have less information about new products.
More over because of poverty, ignorance and illiteracy they often prefer low quality and sometimes
hazardous products to fulfill their needs rather than take care of their environment

LACK OF BIS IMPLEMENTATION

“The BIS is a monolithic bureaucracy that does not have the marketing skills necessary to promote
the Ecomark. The BIS has only succeeded through regulatory powers in areas like ISI (BIS) mark
where mandate has helped it. The BIS has not set targets, as yet, on the number of licences to be
issued per year, nor made efforts for attaining them. In the course of this study, some units either
claimed eligibility or expressed willingness for the Ecomark licence

Moreover, there is no consumer demand for the products with an applied Ecomark. Without the
incentive of greater demand for products, a manufacturer will not apply for an Ecomark licence,
especially for some products, since the possibility exists for greater investment to reach the high
stringency standards for acquiring an Ecomark licence.

MANAGEMENT OF ECOMARK SCHEME

A three-tiered system was set up for the implementation of the Ecomark programme. These three
tiers were established as follows:

1. An Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee14, which was constituted in the MoEF.

Selection of the logo for the ‘Ecomark’.
Creating mass awareness for promotion and acceptance of the Scheme.
Determining the product categories to be taken up under the Scheme.
Coordinating ways of ensuring active involvement of industry in the Scheme.
2. A Technical Committee15, which was constituted in the CPCB16.
Identification of the specific products for classification as ‘environment friendly’.
Reviewing the existing state of knowledge and the environmental criteria followed in other
countries.
Reviewing the various technologies available for determining the criteria.
Recommending various laboratories and analysts for product assessment to the MoEF.
Evaluation of the environmental impact of the product and criteria from time to time.
3. The BIS, which was designated for the assessment and the certification of the products for
the Ecomark against a licence fee.
Assess the product for the Ecomark, and certify the product for award of the Ecomark.
Review, suspend or cancel a licence, for the use of the Ecomark.
Inspect whether the product, which uses an Ecomark conforms to the contract or is
improperly used in relation to any article or process with or without licence.

BIS AND ISI

The Controversial BIS logo
In the Technical Committee meetings the BIS insisted that as the implementing agency for
the Ecomark, the licencees must also have the BIS’s own logo i.e. the ISI mark, which would
be displayed besides the Ecomark logo i.e. the ‘Earthen pot.’ Arguments to the contrary that
nowhere in the world such a condition is applied for a joint labelling, the same did not
succeed. The dual logo is illustrated below. The justification provided by the BIS is that any
certification they grant is governed by the BIS Act, 1986 that requires that the BIS logo
should also be on the product. It was observed by several members of the Technical
Committee that the Ecomark certification should be separated from the ISI certification as
the standards for quality, performance and safety were already in-built in the Ecomark
criteria, and that this could have been done by amending the BIS Act 1986 as has been done
for Ecomark Scheme (EMS) certification18 . Furthermore, it was mandatory for the product
to meet the relevant ISI standards in order to be eligible for 16 out of 17 product categories
(the exception being ‘Finished Leather Products’). Besides this, product categories also need
to meet the additional environment friendly requirements. On occasions, this requirement
has also led to conflict in criteria suggested by the BIS and the Technical Committee. If some
products stay linked with the BIS while others are exempted, then the credibility of the
Ecomark gets dampened on grounds of “fairness”. “The BIS is a monolithic bureaucracy that
does not have the marketing skills necessary to promote the Ecomark. The BIS has only
succeeded through regulatory powers in areas like ISI (BIS) mark where mandate has helped
it, rather than the “voluntary participation of industry” observed an industry
representative19.
Also, there is a feeling that the linking of ecomark with BIS's quality standards has significantly added to
the cost and complexity of obtaining ecomark.

n the interest of the Scheme the procedure for awarding licence for the eco-friendly
products needs to be simplified. The requirement of the ISI mark should not be mandatory
for the award of the Ecomark. This would facilitate a smooth launch of the Scheme

. Box 3: Godrej’s Tide Water and its ‘Ezee’ detergent – March 01, 1994 Tide Water Detergent
Company (a unit of Godrej) and Tata Chemicals applied for the Ecomark for “detergent for
woollen fabric” and “detergent powder” respectively, on January 25, 1993. Out of the two,
the Ecomark was awarded to Tide Water Detergent Company for its ‘Ezee’ detergent the
following year. In between, some amendments were made to the Scheme and it was
launched again on July 28, 1993. Immediately after the award of the licence, Procter &
Gamble acquired “Ezee” from Godrej. After the takeover, Procter & Gamble said they could
not use the Ecomark on “Ezee” due to their corporate regulations. This proved a significant
blow to the progress of the Scheme. While Procter & Gamble chose not to use the Ecomark,
the same company was found using ecolabels on products sold in Sweden under pressure
from the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, a Swedish NGO.