Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-14-Speech-2-253"
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"en.20000314.11.2-253"2
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"Mr President, whilst recently at my sister-in-law's house, I noticed that she had a container of "eco-friendly" washing-up liquid. When I congratulated her on this, she looked rather guilty and admitted that the green bottle now contained normal detergent, as the alternative product was not only more expensive but needed four times as much and even then it did not get the dishes clean; by refilling the container, she could both do the washing up effectively and impress eco-warrior friends. The moral of this story is, of course, that to compete in the mainstream market, eco-products must give a performance close to their alternatives. Only then can these products move out of the niche market they already have and into the mainstream. The eco-label should not be associated with mediocrity.
The German Blue Angel and the Nordic Swan have led the way in eco-labelling. To scrap these successful schemes now would be to throw away the baby with the bath water. In the long term, I can see the merits of the single European eco-label, but this must not be imposed on those with existing schemes. A single scheme has advantages for business: for example, only one registration fee and inspection, standardised packaging, and advantages for consumers who will not be confused by a plethora of labels.
Eco-labelling is moving on from forest products and detergents to computers and household appliances, but why stop there? Services such as tourism and clean taxes could register. In addition, groups of similar small business could possibly cooperate and register together.
In the United Kingdom, we have a flourishing ethical financial services sector, offering savings and pensions which invest from a green perspective. These should not only qualify for an eco-label, but be allowed to sell their products without hindrance throughout the EU in a single financial services market."@en1
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