The college professor who coined the term "food miles" has urged companies to stop confusing consumers with own-brand carbon labels, calling instead for an "omni-label" designed to give customers a complete overview of a product's environmental and social impact (via BusinessGreen).
"Stop confusing consumers with a myriad of green, social, and nutritional labels," Professor Tim Lang told attendees at the British Association Festival of Science in Liverpool this week. "People are left asking: "Which evidence do I listen to and shape my behavior by?"
Lang argues that while transparency in food information is welcomed, the sheer number of labels on the market, from fairtrade to carbon reduction, often lead consumers to conflicting advice.
Instead, Lang proposes the development of a government-backed "omni-label" considering a range of consumer issues such as carbon footprints, packaging levels, nutrition, fairtrade, water use, animal welfare and impact on biodiversity.
However a spokesperson for the British Retail Consortium argues that even a new omni-label could end up confusing consumers. "When it comes to proposing a new label you need to be clear that it is something customers can understand and use," he says.
Though labels have become all the rage, businesses should tread carefully before leaping on this bandwagon. Lawmakers in the U.S., Britain, and Canada are clamping down on green advertising claims, while in New Zealand, the government has launched a website to encourage consumers to judge the credibility of companies' eco-labels.
