Eco-Standards, Product Labelling and Green Consumerism

As conscientious consumers, we have become overwhelmed with alarms about food contamination, over-fishing, clear-felled forests, loss of biodiversity, climate change, chemical pollution, and other environmental and health-related risks. This book is an analysis of a primary set of tools aimed at dealing with these risks: green labels and other eco-standards. The authors address political, regulatory, discursive, and organizational circumstances and raise the questions: how can ecological complexities be translated into a trustworthy and categorical label? Is there a mismatch between the production and consumption of green labels? Is it possible to achieve broad public participation in environmental issues through labelling? This is a timely book that provides a social and policy-oriented analysis of the challenges for green consumerism through green labelling. 'In connecting production and producers with consumption and consumers, green labels are an emerging phenomenon on today's global agenda for sustainability governance. Using a variety of theoretical perspectives and a rich empirical base, this excellent volume provides a balanced and in-depth analysis of the potentials, conditionalities, debates and drawbacks of green labeling. Highly recommended for scholars and professionals involved in environmental governance.' Arthur P.J. Mol, Professor in Environmental Policy, Wageningen University, The Netherlands. 'From snack foods to electricity to investment funds, ecolabels and other product certifications are becoming increasingly common tools for encouraging more sustainable forms of consumption. But can we trust these increasingly ubiquitous seals and labels? Is there any meaningful difference among the products that carry such endorsements? Bostrom and Klintman look behind the actual packaging and offer a pioneering and comprehensive account of how these assurance schemes and standards are manufactured and how they shape the buying practices of consumers in a new era of social and environmental consciousness.' Maurie J. Cohen, New Jersey Institute of Technology, US and University of Leeds, UK. 'This book focuses on a neat, compelling and important question: why trust labels and how do labels work? It shows how labelling has come to be central in environmental and other arenas worldwide, and takes us behind the scenes into the way labelling systems are maintained and made to work. The book offers sharp insights into a phenomenon that affects us all but that has barely been studied to date.' Steve Yearley, Professor of the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge& Director of the ESRC Genomics Forum, University of Edinburgh, UK.