ISEAL, the global association for sustainability standards and labels, has created an online tool for buyers in multiple fields to challenge the credibility of claims made by eco-labels.
Challenge the Label helps users understand the claims and promises behind the 400-plus sustainability labels on the market — for claims like “biodegradable,” “carbon neutral” and “sustainable.”
“It’s a jungle of sustainability claims and labels out there and this makes it confusing for businesses who are trying to find the right suppliers and partners for their objectives,” said Karin Kreider, executive director of ISEAL and a leading expert on credible eco-labels. “ISEAL developed Challenge the Label because we have been defining credibility in standards and labels for more than a decade and we wanted to create something that would point out a few simple truths of credible claims, but also bring together a wealth of additional resources and tools for companies to dig even deeper and support their own credibility.”
Challenge the Label is the result of an 18-month consultation with experts from governments, standard-setters and businesses to agree on credible claims practices by standards systems. The initiative can be applied to any claim or label, whether B2B or B2C, that focuses on sustainability in some way.
ISEAL identified that sustainability claims must meet the Five Universal Truths to Sustainability Claims: clear, accurate and relevant, and backed up by systems that are transparent and robust.
