Ecological labels

Hilowitz (1997) defines ecological labels as an instrument for informing consumers about the environmentally safe mode of production or of the ecological benefits of using a specific product. 

The European Union (EU) views ecological labels as the type of labels that are granted to products with properties significantly contributing to the improvement of important aspects of the environment (EU Regulation No. 1980/2000). 

The above implies that the narrowly understood ecological labels are (1) voluntary, (2) show the environmental impacts of a product to the consumer and (3) are preferably based on life cycle considerations and are verified by a third party (governmental and nongovernmental organisations). Because of these characteristics, they can be viewed as a subgroup of a wider category of environmental labels. 

Type I (ecological label) is a voluntary, multiple-criteria-based, third-parly programme that awards a Ucence authorising the use of environmental labels on products, indicating overall environmental preferabiUty of a product within a product category based on Ufe cycle considerations. (ISO 14024)... 

The consuming public must assume that the producer of a product has shown reasonable consideration for the safety, correct quantity, proper labeling, and other social aspects of the product. Since the 1960s these types of important concerns have expanded and been reinforced by a recognition of the consumer s right to know as well as by concerns for conservation, ecology, antilittering, and the like. Numerous safety-related and socially responsible laws have been enacted and more are on the way. 

Recurrent is the lack of adequate techniques to assess carbon flows through the plants and microbes into soil organic matter (151). Most important is the development of techniques and protocols to separate rhizosphere from nonrhizosphere soil as well as possibly to facilitate analyses of soil carbon dynamics. The use of carbon isotopes, and, where possible, application of double labeling with C and C, seems inevitable in order to separate the contribution of different substrates to the formation of the soil organic matter pool and to get to an understanding of the ecological advantage of exudates and rhizodeposits. 

The EU eco-label that is relevant for the leather industry is the eco-label for footwear. The EU eco-label is given to consumer products. Leather is not in itself a consumer product, but criteria for leather are included in the criteria for footwear. The criteria can be found in Commission Decision of 9 July 2009 establishing the ecological criteria for the award of the Community eco-label for footwear (2009/563/EC). 

Uncertainty may also affect the credibility of ecological risk assessment procedures. In the late 1970s, the USEPA presented a risk assessment for the use of granular carbofuran on com, including a detailed list of field studies and incidents. The Eederal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Science Advisory Panel concluded there was insufficient information to justify restricted use labeling and recommended further testing. Nearly 20 years later, the accumulation of additional field studies and incidents provided sufficient evidence such that approvals for use of carbofuran were withdrawn. 

Up to now there is no legal prohibition in any country, but some organizations, e.g., the International Association for Research and Testing in the Field of Textile Ecology (Oko-Tex), which bestows eco-labels on environmentally and toxicologi-cally proven textiles, refuses eco-labels for some dyes [17],... 

Studies on the biosynthesis of mollusc natural products have contributed significantly to marine chemical ecology. To date, research has been conducted on herbivores such as sea hares, sacoglo-ssans, and pulmonate limpets, and on carnivorous molluscs such as nudibranchs. Precursors used in labeling experiments can be injected into the mantle tissue or hepatopancreas of the molluscs or taken up by absorption through the skin.234... 

We wrote this book for consumers, farmers, and policy decision makers who want to make food choices and policy that will support ecologically responsible farming practices. It is also for consumers who want accurate information about genetically engineered crops and their potential impacts on human health and the environment. Our book is for those who wish to know more about the food they eat, besides just how to prepare it. It is for every shopper who has at one time or another perused the aisles of the local supermarket wondering what labels such as organic or GE-free really mean for the health of their families and for the future of the planet. 

Many chemicals have a mixture of toxic, corrosive, flammability, and reactivity risks. The Material Safety Data Sheet or MSDS for a chemical contains detailed safety information that is not presented on the label. This includes acute and chronic health effects, first aid and firefighting measures, what to do in case of a spill, and ecological and disposal considerations. 

Redalje, D.G. (1993) The labeled chlorophyll a technique for determining photoautotrophic carbon specific growth rates and biomass. In Handbook of Methods inAqautic Microbial Ecology (Kemp, P.F., ed.), pp. 563-572, Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL. 

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