WIDE SPREADING
The strength of the ECO-LABEL lies also within its European scope. It has in fact been recognised by all member states across the European Union, with the addition of Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland.

IT IS SELECTIVE
The ECO-LABEL is awarded only to products that have a reduced impact on the environment. Therefore, the ecological criteria have been defined in such a manner as to award the label to 30% of the products available on the market. This means that only certain products currently sold are suitable for being awarded the label without being modified in any manner whatsoever.

IT IS VOLUNTARY
Applying for the Eco-label is a choice. Producers are not obliged to apply for this certification. It is up to producers to apply for the Eco-label, after  assessing that their products fulfil the criteria, to show and communicate to their customers that their products respect the environment.

IT IS TRANSPARENT AND CONSULTIVE
Transparency and widespread participation are further enhanced by the considerable input of representatives of industry, commerce, environmental and consumer organizations and trade unions during the definition of ecological criteria.

IT IS OFFICIALLY APPROVED
Ecological criteria established for a product group must be approved by the majority of Member States of the European Committee before being officially published on the Official Journal of the European Communities.

IT WORKS WITH A MULTI-CRITERIA APPROACH
The Eco-label criteria applied to each product group are based on a “from the cradle to the grave” approach (analysis of the lifecycle), to analyse the impact of the product on the environment throughout its life-cycle, starting from raw material extraction (cradle), through production, distribution (including packaging) and disposal (grave) of the product.