'Eco labelling' is more likely to become a tool for helping the industry police itself and reduce its environmental impact rather than a means of driving consumer choice, according to experts.
As various green labelling schemes emerge, many fear full lifecycle analysis of products, from creation to waste disposal, would be too complicated for consumers to take on board. There are also fears competing schemes will confuse them.
Some experts believe 'choice editing' or pre-selection by buyers could put only the most environmentally friendly products on supermarket shelves. This has already happened in the white-goods sector with the introduction of mandatory energy- efficiency labelling.
"Perhaps it is more for behind- the-scenes information where it will be more important and will be too complicated for the consumer," said Kate Hughes, sustainable products strategy advisor at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. She was speaking at a conference on sustainability last month organised by the Food & Drink Innovation Network.
"Your green credentials will be seen as a differentiator," said ACNielsen research director Jonathan Banks. "If you don't address this you may be out of the game eventually." Consumer research has rejected proposals for personal carbon allowances, floated by environment secretary David Miliband as a means of achieving carbon reduction targets in the Climate Change Bill of 60% by 2050.
According to agency Dragon Brands: "The thought of personal carbon allowances has been strongly rejected."
However, it then added: "If your brand is perceived to have [sustainable] attributes, you will be seen in a more positive light."
The Carbon Trust recently launched a scheme for carbon labelling that has been initially adopted by manufacturers Walkers crisps and Innocent smoothies.
This followed the announcement by Tesco chief executive, Terry Leahy, of plans to label its products with their carbon footprint using a system developed with the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University.