Racing to the top or the bottom? Industry resistance to eco-labelling of paper products in three jurisdictions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5073772 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kathryn Harrison (0000-0001-9859-0210, University of British Columbia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1999 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 110-136 |
| Publication date | 1999-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0964-4016 • E-ISSN: 1743-8934 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09644019908414496 |
| OpenAlex | W1978844287 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 9 |
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
The Politics of the Environment
The Future of Non-State Authority on Canadian Staples Industries
Correlates of rigorous and credible transnational governance
Green Consumption, Ecolabelling and Capitalism's Environmental Limits
Rules and politics in international integration
Local Governance and Environmental Conservation
State-Capital Relations in Voluntary Environmental Improvement
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,27 |
| Citation span | 2000 - 2015 (16) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |