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Reading between the labels

Shopping for products that don’t traumatize the planet can leave you feeling like a drugged-out mouse in a maze. Just snap your fingers and another dozen green logos seem to materialize, as companies and retail chains take it upon themselves to invent their own labelling systems. Thanks for the help, guys, but what we really need is a national agreed-upon seal. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the labels you’ll come across. So should you trust ’em?

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ECOLOGO/ENVIRONMENTAL CHOICE This trusty Canadian label was founded by Environment Canada, and these guys actually require independent verification of product claims, something too few others do. The stamp can now be spotted on more than 7,000 products. ecologo.org.


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ENERGY STAR The blue-and-white government-administered logo tells you an appliance uses 10 to 50 per cent less energy and water than standard models. In 2008, Consumer Reports slammed the program as too lax, charging that it needs more random spot checks and independent testing. Nonetheless, even if these appliances save half the emissions they claim to, they’re worth it. energystar.gov.


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FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL WOOD/PAPER It’s still considered the best wood label around (the only one that isn’t industry-run), but critics say its monitoring of forests leaves something to be desired and that old-growth trees aren’t clearly protected. The FSC Mixed Sources label contains up to 30 per cent non-certified sources, so stick to the pure stuff from North American forests. fsccanada.org.


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NATURAL One of the most abused words in the history of the green movement. It doesn’t seem to mean diddly-squat. The only area where anyone technically regulates it is on food products, but it’s hard to believe it’s enforced much. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has been giving naturally raised meat sellers a hard time.


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NON-TOXIC Think someone’s overseeing the use of this term? Think again. Health Canada says it’s an industry-devised marketing term. True, the product shouldn’t be caustic or poison you.


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CANADA ORGANIC Finally, we get a national official organic label unifying the country under one hilly green maple leaf symbol by the end of June. It covers all the same ground as most organic standards, but keep in mind that the label doesn’t apply to products packaged and sold only within Ontario, so buyer beware. inspection.gc.ca.


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USDA ORGANIC Walk down any grocery aisle and this one comes up again and again, mostly because Canada gets most of its organic food from the U.S. Just like the Canada Organic label, products with this one have to be 95 per cent certified organic. ams.usda.gov/nop.


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GREEN SEAL A U.S.-based indie nonprofit org with a comprehensive certification scheme that varies from product to product. (Think cleaning products, furniture, paper, hotels and more.) These guys actually visit the factory floor and do annual monitoring. greenseal.org.


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GREEN GUARD This logo tells you one thing and one thing only, that an office chair/can of paint/brand of insulation shouldn’t emit too many indoor-air-polluting VOCs and the like. But don’t assume it’s otherwise green. greenguard.org.


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BIODEGRADABLE Don’t trust products making this claim if they don’t have third-party certification like Scientific Certification Systems’. But even that won’t tell you a product is 100 per cent biodegradable the SCS seal just means 70 per cent of a product will biodegrade within 28 days. Look for products that cough up better specifics.


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COMPOSTABLE If it’s certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute/U.S. Composting Council, you can trust this to mean a product has been tested to biodegrade at the same rate as yard trimmings and food scraps. But it doesn’t mean it can be put in your backyard composter or that Toronto will accept it at an organics composting facility. bpiworld.org.


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LEAPING BUNNY Unless you see this exact bunny with stars in the logo, the product probably isn’t certified. (Most people just stick any old rabbit image on their stuff.) This tells you the company has officially pledged to the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics that neither it nor its suppliers conduct or commission animal testing. leapingbunny.org.


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FAIR TRADE CERTIFIED This tells you your sugar, tea, coffee or chocolate wasn’t grown and harvested under sweatshop conditions. Workers are paid a decent wage, and the premium you fork out also funds health care and education. Dangerous pesticides are banned and organic practices encouraged, but unless it comes with the certified organic seal, there are no guarantees on that score.

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