Eco-Labels Are Coming To a Store Near You!

Eco-Labels Are Soon to Be in A Store Near You!

New Research has been developed and approved to provide shoppers with the ability to check the environmental impact the food they’re choosing could have before adding it to their shopping baskets.

The eco-labels are already beginning to be trialled in big chains such as Marks & Spencer’s, with a traffic light appearance for consumers to be able to make quick decisions, as we all know, nobody wants to be held up in this bustling age.

 

‘The People Have Spoken!’

Reliable information of the impact of consumer choices has not been readily available in this way before, due to UK manufacturers previously having to list their main ingredients as a percentage and not an amount.

Around 55% of consumers are now looking to make more sustainable diet choices, with the campaigns for healthier choices and helping environmental impact not just by UK government but around the world, consumers are wanting to know more ethical information such as;

  • Is one choice really healthier than the other?
  • how and where their food choice has come from
  • What is the overall sugar/ salt content?

The eco-label fits right in to the new way of making informed choices about our food decisions and habits.

 

‘The Industry Wants to Be Green!’

Food manufacturers within the industry has been asking for a new tool in helping to make the industry have more sustainability. The new label will fill the gap and help the industry including retailers to reaching emission goals with eco data readily available. The eco-label will give manufacturers a push to improving on sustainable packaging and using new methods to increase sustainable food purchasing in line with the ethical and environmental values of the market.

The research analysis shows, the final score takes into account the greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water stress and nutrient run-off making food groups such as; meat and dairy, the highest scorers for environmental impact increasing manufacturers to use less of these ingredients and adding more plant-based ingredients and options, leading to consumers making choices towards a more sustainable diet. Other products have a higher score due to how and where they are grown for example areas that have been cleared within a rainforest to grow coffee or cocoa beans for chocolate products.

The overall weakness in the database as suggested by the researchers, is that this type of information is not readily available to the public. However, manufacturers can add this information to their databases before the roll out of green labels to their products for retailing.

 

‘What about menus?’

Vegan charity Viva! Have started a petition to introduce and help the government into rolling out this type of eco-label scheme into restaurant and food outlet menus. With the UK government having just passed the law introducing calorie labelling to menus it would be sufficient in achieving environmental sustainability by introducing eco-labelling as well.

Again, helping consumers to understand the environmental impact of food and diet choices. This would be a significant step into achieving better UK health and sustainability overall.

 

‘Conclusion?’

Overall, the introduction of an eco-labelling system and database would be an asset to the food industry, helping improve sustainability and helping the industry to cut its environmental footprint.

The question is, ‘Would more information on food labels make them overcomplicated?’,

The answer would depend on the placement of information and how the food label is presented to the consumer, including specific eye-line presenting important information and making the right claims on your products.

Consumers won’t read the necessary information if it isn’t displayed properly or clearly understandable, this may lead them to make a final choice on a competitor's product that could be similar to yours but may not be as healthy or sustainable.

Making the wrong types of claims or making too many claims on your labels can also lead to the same outcome. Using quick techniques that are specific and unique to you such as trusted branding colours and logo’s and adding QR codes to display extra information can instill trust in your products and make for better reading!

‘Let’s not forget adhering to food label laws and regulations!’

  • As an industry, we still have a long way to go in presenting proper food labels and information without having products recalled. However, there are many food label management software out there such as Tolarus, that can provide a quick and easy solution to help you achieve your labelling process efficiently and still look fabulous to your target market!

News Archive

Technology is Impacting the Hospitality Industry in a Big Way!

20.07.2022

Barcoding and Sequential Numbering on Your Product Labels Why Do it?

13.05.2022

Print-On-Demand with Tolarus Software and Epson!

11.05.2022

Why Food Labelling is Important?

21.04.2022

Get The Look!

19.04.2022

Common Label Printing Issues... You Make!

03.03.2022

New Product... What Can You Do to STAND OUT, Without Having to Shout About it?

01.03.2022

Cloud-Based Labelling Software - You Need It!

25.02.2022

Why is Inkjet Good for the Environment?

25.02.2022

Mistakes.......Happen?

27.01.2022

Shopper Habits and Your Products!

23.01.2022

UK Food Label Compliance Guidance for Greengrocers (England and Wales)

13.01.2022

NHS Food Scanner Launch for Better Health Campaign

11.01.2022

How to market your food products to healthy eaters

10.01.2022

Natasha's Law - Made Easy

06.01.2022

Mandatory Nutrition Labelling Guidance.

04.01.2022

Natasha's Law compliance and regulations

22.12.2021

Why Using Genuine Ink Cartridges Matter!

19.11.2021

Battling The Rise of UK Food Wastage

30.10.2021

Ancient Egyptians Created the First Stickers, That Helped Evolve the Modern Print Industry

20.10.2021

The Flexo and InkJet Great Discussion.

18.10.2021

Digital Print and Brand Protection...

10.10.2021