Racing to the top or the bottom? Industry resistance to eco-labelling of paper products in three jurisdictions

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5073772
AutoresKathryn Harrison (0000-0001-9859-0210, University of British Columbia, autor correspondente)
Ano1999
Volume8
Fascículo4
Páginas110-136
Data de publicação1999-12-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoEnvironmental Politics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0964-4016 • E-ISSN: 1743-8934
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09644019908414496
OpenAlexW1978844287
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas7
Referências citadas9

In recent years, governments of industrialised countries throughout the world have expressed growing interest in voluntary alternatives to environmental regulation. This article examines one such instrument, eco‐labelling, which attempts to harness market forces by helping environmentally motivated consumers identify products that are less harmful to the environment. The experience of three government‐sponsored programmes, in Canada, the European Union, and the Nordic countries, with eco‐labelling of sanitary paper products provides cause for scepticism concerning the efficacy of eco‐labelling. In particular, three fundamental assumptions underlying the eco‐labelling model are challenged by the case studies. First, the responsiveness of eco‐labelling agencies and their political sovereigns to pressures to relax certification criteria from firms threatened with a loss of market share can undermine the ability of eco‐labels to identify genuine industry leaders. Second, evidence of industry boycotts of eco‐labels in all three jurisdictions studied suggests that at least some industrial sectors are capable of ‘circling the wagons’ to resist competition on environmental grounds. Finally, a decline in green consumerism threatens the very premise of eco‐labelling, which relies at its core on consumer altruism. The article concludes that, in light of these limitations, eco‐labels are best seen as a complement to, rather than substitute for, traditional regulatory instruments

Business · Certification · Economics · European union · International trade · Labelling · Public economics · Environmental Sustainability in Business · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact · Regulation and Compliance Studies · Marketing