CATEGORY - LABELLING

Wow, I can't believe I'd missed giving this its own 'label' (sorry) 'til now!

There is a lot more already; just click 'LABELLING' in the label (whoops, again:) list at the end.

Articles

Food&DrinkEurope.com - Deal could make traffic lights mandatory, claims report - For now, let's kick off with this, which isn't actually about pack labelling at all, but puts the state of the industry and legislation in context.

Guardian - Tesco labels will show products' carbon footprints - I await, with interest, by what agreed standard these footprints are derived/assessed, and what, if anything, the bemused shopper will make of them... and then do.

Guardian - Why the Co-op is wary of 'food miles' labelling - Is it not all rather boiling down a bit to 'my science is better than your science', and when the science objectivity doesn't suit then ethics trump all? Meanwhile, what the heck is the poor consumer supposed to DO...assuming they care enough to try and figure it all out? I sure am having trouble, as it's not my day job (well, not to the exclusion of all else) and I have waaaaay better things to do as I stroll down the aisles once a week. We seem to be getting a heck of a lot served up in short order to 'help' with shunting the attention away to us...:

Greenbang - Tesco’s food labels to carry carbon confessions

'These carbon labels will mean customers can measure the eco-friendliness of their shopping'

And...?

I can just see my missus flouncing out of Hereford Tesco to Gloucester Waitrose because the pack of Walker's stoat and hemlock flavour demanded by 'they-who-must be fed-junk-food' might have 5g less CO2 in it than the current 75g... whatever that actually means or translates into. Versus what? And from where (who WILL have a different set of measures, trust me)? And doing the same with the 50-100 other items that she needs to get from shelf to trolley in 30 minutes of a Friday night. She's freaked out enough that in sorting out the polyfiller-unmentionables in their tuck boxes she has actually sent their salt and vinegar levels to a point where the NHS can opt out once they hit 30.

At the mo, all I can sense is the cringing screech of a box being ticked, soon to be followed by a generous ladle of a mighty ad campaign to tell us that said box is now ticked.

Wouldn't it be great if the guv'mint, manufacturers and retailers got together on a few more well-coordinated, high enviROI initiatives that the public could surely be encouraged to work with, but without dumping the whole sorry mess on the poor consumer to figure out and deal with (which they won't) whilst slapping mutual backs at the next target-for-tonight enviro-conference.

Treehugger - Should Food Labelling Show Water Footprint? -

Super. Pretty soon we'll need a DVD-R on a pack of Tik-Taks to contain all the information we are deemed... or maybe required to know before purchase.

So far, in just the last few months, I am up to health (at least 3 versions here in the UK), carbon footprint, airmiles, Fairtrade, Organics (I think they are now fighting it out) and now water.

And you know what? Even with 75g of C02 on my pack of crisps I have no clue what it means, what to compare it to or what I can do (drive to another shop?)

It will make the weekly shopping a fun event.

But at least a whole new raft of green saviours can score funding on the back of it.

Will the last guy actually doing something to help spare the future please stop pedalling before they leave.

The Telegraph - Tesco to put carbon scores on goods - They shoots... ?

Food&DrinkEurope - Green logos create brand tension - Maybe we need a 'no-go' logo area?

BBC - Supermarket trials carbon labels - In many ways it's better than nothing, but I'm just having trouble seeing how it works. And I doubt a visit to the store will make much difference, though I will keep my eye open next time. This BBC piece suggests 'Shoppers will be able to compare products' carbon footprints' But with what? And then...? We are talking 20 pretty diverse items out of how many in those 20+ aisles you have 30 minutes to zip up and down? One interesting aspect is the totality of the experience, highlighted by the way in which you cook a spud making a big difference.

Enviromental Leader - Carbon Trust Rolls Out Carbon Label Program - Though I do crank an eyebrow at this: 'A number of other carbon label programs are in the works from various organizations.'

Brand Channel - Coffee Brands: Wake Up and Smell the Morality - I need a drink

BBC - Foods 'should label up eco-costs'

Indy - Call for new 'universal' food labelling - well, we are so good at cross-national cooperation, so it's going to be a cinch

Guardian - Government urged to introduce 'omni-standards' for food - Guess the PR is doing the rounds then

FoodandDrinkEurope - Could consumers suffer from green logo overload? - Nice they ask, though I'd say it's more 'Are consumers already suffering...' with a consequent total lack of enviROI+.

Indy - Crackdown ordered on food label loopholes - Again, only related, but still a worthy caution on how any scheme can be manipulated.

Food&DrinkEurope - Half of all consumers ignore food labels - only half?
Food&DrinkEurope - What consumers make of food labels - it's about health, but most will apply to 'green'.

Greenbang - New barcode to provide products’ carbon footprint - interesting, mind you as it is noted recently that 50% consumers ignore health labels, there may be some way to go yet. I also wonder what 'measure' it is operating to, as there are several I have heard of. Maybe they have standardised?

Guardian - Shoppers need clear labels to put a stop to 'greenwash' - of course, there's 'should', and 'calling for', and 'actually happening'.

Packaging News - Valpak issues Green Dot guidance for UK brand owners - '..concerns that consumers believed a pack that displayed the Green Dot was recyclable.' There is no equivalent symbol in the UK that denotes whether a company had complied with its packaging waste obligations, although the information is available via the Environment Agency public register.

Packaging News - Why green logos are all Greek - With certain irony, I just visited a council roadshow where they were explaining why we were losing our - very effective - weekly double RE:box kerbside system for a fortnightly all-in-one, 'the MRF will sort it all out' wheelie.

And, in addition to pencils and stickers, I also ha a choice of multiple leaflets saying roughly the same thing... with choices also printed in Portuguese and Polish.

However, what I did notice, in very small print, was that the onus is still being lobbed on the consumer to try and find,and suss out various small, often embossed only, signs of what is 'acceptable'. I was met by a wall of fudge when asking what would happen should my kids do the wrong thing, or a passer-by 'contribute' to my new outdoor rubbish-practices proxy representative.

I agree that information is necessary to inform and get the public to engage, but only when it is in forms that the layperson can comprehend and work with, and only when the systems are configured to handle the cooperation demanded in a proper manner.

This is not yet the case. A bunch of box-ticking wonks and target-meeting bureaucrats living in a jargon-filled world of niche conferences and metrics are not the best folk to understand and deliver ways to motivate consumers or spare the planet. And neither in complement are marketers more interested in getting the former off their backs than doing anything with a decent enviROI. IMHO.

Times - Green labels to show foods’ eco-credentials - one also for the 'could' files

Marketing Week - Green labelling could overwhelm shoppers with data - Ya think?

Good Human - Greenwash Of The Week: Climate-Friendly Food Labels - Not a fan, I'd say

Treehugger - NEW - Via Junkk - Can 400 Green Labels Do Anything But Confuse The World's Consumers?

Information

Budget Ecoist - Plastics Numbering System Demystified: Go Green

BusinessGreen - Report urges firms to "edit" out non-green choices - worth a read if your life is that long and you have no mates

co2code.info - NIFTY!!!

Planet Green - Get to Know Your Recyclable Plastics by Number

environmentalleader.com - Green Labels Positively Impact Purchase Behavior

wrap-symbols - it's PR, but useful

WRAP - Recycling symbols explained

Logos (currently in development - ignore for now)

As the visual imagery behind all this goes hand in had with a plethora of logos, I have decided to start noting 'em down as I stumble across them.

Now, the blogger limit in images per post will preclude all that will be going up eventually, so until I can figure a better way I will post one by one as a 'Logo' and then link from here to that, with picture, if you see what I mean

carbon neutral - saw it in my SKY magazine. No idea what it means. And it is not the only one of its type, either.

ecolingo.com - a goodly spread of logos and definitions
recycle now -
valpak green dot -

Packaging News - Why green logos are all Greek

Courtesy of a blog exchange, I can kick off a sub-set list with an odd first attempt:

PRINTING INKS (first point of business is that, so far, no one seems to really know if there is a standard)

recycledproducts.com - 'Switching to soy inks'
soybiobased.org -
wgiprint.com -

I love the smell of box-ticking in the afternoon!

Major UK retailers and brands agreed to introduce on-pack recycling labelling system

Once you read that, best make add at the front 'Some...'

I love the smell of box-ticking in the afternoon!

It will be interesting to see how national brands end up coordinating with local authority variations. Especially as this 'non compulsory' scheme is 'encouraged' hither and thither.

I, for one, look forward to yet more info crammed on my pack side, but do wonder if the missus and kids will be too inspired as they stand, binside, getting to grips with bits that are 'widely recycled', and doubt rather whether they will be scooting off on a case by case basis to 'check local recycling'. Actually our local bods do at least take plastics, at least in the swimming pool carpark skip, and we just heave it all in there, from PEP to HDPE to lord knows what.

Well, at least the bits we don't reuse on Junkk.com or pop in our RE:box weekly kerbside boxes- soon to be ditched in favour of a big green wheelie taking everything in a big black plastic bag two counties across to be turned into recyclate tonnages that most recyclers won't take due to quality compromises, but still 'count' for EU targets - will now be better directed.

I cannot wait for the multi-million campaign to create 'awareness' for all this, driving up rates and helping with the bonuses of all (well, most: the consumer is still out of this loop) involved.

Just hope the planet and our kids' futures will benefit as much as the box tickers.

Ain't green grand?

We've been labelled!

You know how folk usually don't like being labelled?

Well, we have, and we could not be more thrilled!

Now I know I bang on about the actual use of a lot of 'green labelling' initiatives, especially to already overloaded and/confused consumers wandering down the aisles (is finding 75g of carbon in crisp pack enough to abandon the store and drive to the next town?), but how about a nifty bit of re:use ideas re:direction... on every pack? As with the recycling URL, Junkk.com is looking forward to enjoying pride of place (well, lurking) on the product ranges from Poundland.

And, until today, we knew not one thing about it, until this very nice email email arrived from a very nice chap: Neil Ballard, their Packaging & Design Manager -

"After meeting you (and being thoroughly inspired) at the Packaging Show at the NEC earlier this year, you will be pleased to know that we have now added your website address to over 600 lines of product that will be coming in to our business over the next few months (primarily Halloween and Christmas) and we will continue to do so to as many lines as possible. See attached example of how you have been integrated on to our own label packs. I hope this helps your cause and that your business/website grows exponentially!"

I actually thought it was a wind up at first, but having spoken to the man himself it looks like we have yet another, and highly significant addition to the cause... and, soon, we hope, database!

Early days, but we're looking forward to hooking up with them on all sorts of fun & games to help the consumer, the planet... and... by way of inspiring a few other businesses, our two companies' own bottom lines too!

Wet measures

Forget carbon: you should be checking your water footprint

There is actually something to this.

However, as it comes out at the same time as a few other labelling proposals I can only imagine what the poor consumer might face trying to make an informed judgement as they look at the pack of cakes on aisle 4.

waterfootprint.org - I must check to see how a bottle of water stacks up to the favoured tipple, one suspects, of those most vocal in luvvieland most vocal in advocating its banning. I am pretty sure their tables often sport a currently guilt-free glass of vino, which up to now seems...'different'.

Peas in odd pods

An oddity, which I merely share because it highlights the slight disconnect between the various protagonists in the recycling systems: consumer, manufacturer/retailer & authorities.

I repeat I don't mean to pick on Morissons; they just happen to be where I shop. Also they are at least trying.

But this one has me flummoxed. Two packs of frozen veg in two plastic, branded packs. Yet one is recyclable, and one is not. Why on earth would that be the case?

More on re-labelling

Recycling concerns beat health on shoppers' agenda

Good on shoppers. But...

Do they have a clue that what they are being told works, or is even accurate...?

'Recyclable' on its own, and without a bunch of other stuff in the loop, is essentially meaningless.

Also while WRAP and some industry brands may be in discussion, there are a ton of others doing their own funky thing and that may be tricky to undo.
So as Mr. Bird says, like the traffic lights/roundel/charts for health, it all becomes a bit of a mess really. But boxes will be ticked!

Here to help

I don't mean to single out Morrsions in this, but it just so happens they are where we mostly shop, and they have a (doubtless well-intentioned) pack-recycling labelling policy.

It's just that I, as a consumer, all too often either don't have a clue what they are talking about, find what they are talking about to be daft, or... can DO precious little about what they TALK about. The latter is part of a bigger picture, but then we all need to see this for what it is to address it properly.

These two packs were from last night's meal. The plastic wrappers from a frozen veg and a fresh veg.

One, quite clearly, IS recyclable, though 'facilities may be limited'. In the bin or in the the... er... what again? They carrier bag slot? The binliner hanging off the plastics skip? I don't know.

The other is 'partly' recyclable with all due caveats as above. Being that this initially appeared to be a printed clear plastic bag this was odd. Other than the contents and the bag, what else was there?

Well, irony of ironies, on closer looking there was an extra clear sticker in the mix. A bonded-on effort (why? The rest is custom to contents) whose principle function was to tell me it country of origin. Holland, since you ask.

ps: I went to the recyclenow.com site to find out what to do and where. Maybe it was just me, but when it came to sorting out these babies... nothing leapt out. In the bin liner then.

Public - one for trying.
Business - zero for being anything other than a useless gesture.
Authorities - minus points for wasting so much money on ineffective systems and pointless comms efforts.

It's academic... apparently. Still

Close the loop on plastic, says leading academic

Couldn't agree more with Dr. Thompson. Though why it is an academic issue... still... now... rather defeats me.

But then, I'm only a consumer.

And that, 'scuse the pun, seems to make me just... fine.

Taking the wrap

I just wanted to share this morning's mail delivery. And (left/top) the week's so far.

In it were three magazines, two of an eco bent.

Now I understand all the issues faced in safe delivery, so I am not going there.

What is more of interest to me is the disconnect between all those who should be dealing with this, from the suppliers to publishers to consumers to waste disposal entities, commercial and public, for profit and legislative.

Two of my haul claim to be safely disposable in landfill. Rather confusingly (well, to this consumer) one is oxy-degradable and the other biodegradable. Same thing?

The other is 'recyclable'.

Now I know enough to wonder whether the landfill-friendly efforts are only going to work if processed properly. And that by being mixed with the other the whole thing is probably a mess anyway.

I doubt many would be even so troubled. And in the absence of any information to the contrary, or mechanisms to deal with it properly anyway, it's all going in the same basket, and I'll then let the supermarket decide this weekend when I stick it in the bag box, or the swimming pool carpark skip's plastic bag binliner.

Not, I imagine, the best enviROI, really.

GOOD PACK, BAD PACK - What do you make of it all?

ADDENDUM at end - we're not the only ones on the case (geddit?)


Ok, we admit it. We bought grapes in a box... but they were Fairtrade!!! You can see by the label.

Speaking of which, what has inspired this blog is what was on the other side, namely the packaging recyclability advice.

It's a bit hard to see here, so let me retype for you:

________

This packaging is partly recyclable

Punnet/PET - [tick]
Label - [x]

[tick] - Not recyclable everywhere yet.
To find out about recycling in your area visit www.recyclenow.com

_________

Sooooo.... let me get this staright.

The packaging is partly recyclable, but might not be so first go on an online hunting trip to find out.

More than this, the [tick] goes from being a yes, to a maybe.

And just for good measure, the [x] is for the label, which is glued to the plastic which might be recyclable. Or not.

Now, is it just me, or is this not just the most confusing thing you ever saw/read? And also shows that there's a whole lot of effort being p*ssed away by a whole lot of folk to make it look like we are addressing waste, without first tackling the main ways that need to be put in place first so the poor consumer can actually DO something about reducing it or disposing of it correctly?

Me, I think I'll try finding a reuse first.

Gaurdian - Listing the green labels

Answering the call

Gordon Brown calls for single food labelling scheme

What, in the great smoke and mirrors scheme of things, does 'calls for' actually mean, or translate as?

I rather suspect this is yet one more in an exponentially expanding series of politician double speak up there to join 'this is not acceptable (but sod all will be done)', 'we're going to look at this (at arm's length, and then wait until it goes away)' and, my personal favourite 'lessons need to learned (then filed and forgotten)'.

I hate to break it to our Dear Leader, but this horse has already long bolted and this consumer is well beyond contusion. He's already at 'if they don't know or care to sort it out sensibly, why should I bother?'. So, as I am on a mixed metaphorical roll, it will be fun to see how this genie gets popped back in it's bottle.

Especially as, at least from my reading of this article, the additional fun of the already several competing and contradictory carbon/food miles efforts already out and/or proposed to add to the screed on packs seems not to be in this mix. Or at least not mentioned.

I'm betting that after a ton of 'working with', which should keep a load of public servants in pensions and consultants in fees until well after the cows have finished burping methane, the most I predict will be several vastly expensive 'campaigns' instead of any tangibles from several left/right hand quangos, so at least the ad and media world may still benefit.

Just not so sure about the consumer or planet's health, though.

Guardian - Energy firms feel heat from government over surge in prices - I'm sorry, but how 'expressing concern' translates into anyone on the other end 'feeling heat' is a stretch.

Hidden Gems

Recycling award for Morrisons

And a big-up to them

Thing is, as a weekly Morrsions shopper, I can honestly say I have never noticed the things. Or if I have, acted any differently.

As a metaphor for most green initiatives, that's about tops.

It will ride up with wear

I noted this: Tesco measures carbon footprint of own products

Well, 30 of them, anyway. As a test. And being part of a project to assess and develop a carbon labelling standard. I guess it's a start. So long as it goes somewhere soon.

I didn't even know we had a Climate Change Minister, but I can see why she gets the big bucks.

To her stunning insights here I might add that having measured them, there is getting them across in a meaningful way to the poor consumer. Cue another initiative.

The project will provide information on how the standard, called the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2050, can be applied in a cost-effective, simple way.

I wonder when? I'm assuming that number at the end is not the date.

Shouldn't do what it says on the tin

Food Flight! The Argument Over Flying Organic Food - Is one of those that in most ways is sad, but in others make you giggle when you shouldn't.

Just how the Soil Association can figure removing an organic label from something airflown defeats me purely as a matter of language. The two are different, and distinct.

But it also shows the knots the various competing nanny-movements are getting themselves into, and dragging us down with them as well.

Especially when I read this: We at TreeHugger would hope that viable alternative jet fuels or solar powered planes or those using zero-emission fuel cell technology would come into play before it comes to that.

Solar powered planes! Today I am having trouble lighting a bulb with a 1sqm array.

Indy - It would be neither fair nor helpful to ban all air freight

I'm not sure '...only one tenth of carbon emissions from food transportation-, and growing is quite the thing to dismiss.

And while I agree that wasting less food would be far more effective I just wonder how? In fact, taking our own family, some of the most vilified packaging initiatives seem to be helping: individual salad or one person portions, as examples.

The rest is fair discussion.

Indy letters - Food air-freighted from Africa

The black stuff.

Newsnight addresses CARBON LABELS

I address Newsnight:

Good report. I got some facts (50% of ‘impact’ at agricultural stage alone) and a few important questions were raised.

At the outset Mr. Mason added ‘Do ‘we’ care’? I guess that will become apparent in Mr. Lunz’s poll as mentioned at the end, though I am always dubious on what people say vs. what they think or do in such cases. You tend not to be that honest if it’s about personal efforts to ‘save the planet’, especially if you’ll look bad.

Then we got into the meat (well, one veg) of the slot. I may have missed it but if every stage was covered, it seemed to screech to a halt at disposal. The whole impact of packaging and where it goes didn’t feature*.

So immediately I felt this to be incomplete. What this country, indeed the world, needs, is a grounded set of polices that cover what we consume from when it is taken from the ground to stuck back in it (or pumped skywards). With any leftovers reused, of course (see link via my name:)

Anyway, back to what was discussed. Yes, I may look at this label and say ‘there’s too much carbon’. Actually I don’t think I would say that because I don’t know what is too much for a crisp even compared even to another crisp, much less other foodstuffs. And I doubt I’m having that internal debate as I stand there at each aisle.

There’s also mention that this is the 1st manufacturer of several to get on board with this, I note voluntary, initiative. How many are there? How is all this coordinated? In addition to the health versions that vary depending on brand and retailer, I am aware of a few others either already up or being pitched on carbon footprints and/or food miles already. I have joked, and hope it does not come to haunt me, that soon a pack of Smarties will have a CDR of all it is deemed I should know before and after purchase. And that will have a mini-DVD on it, too, to cover its disposal. I am also afraid to say that, as a middle-aged slob I for one also have no clue whether 181 kcalorie per pack is good or bad for me. They are crisps. They don’t seem like they’d be good. As to 75g of carbon, ditto. Hard to put in context. And not a factor in my purchase efforts.

I note that those who embrace this scheme have ‘2 years to get it right' or lose the rights to this label/logo. Is this the only one? Or one of several? Are they competing? Are they paid for? Who monitors the monitors? Are there any official bodies who can add to the discussion?

I thought Prof. Jackson put it all in much clearer terms. And was also refreshingly pragmatic about the issues. Dairy. Beef. Or by Air: if you care about carbon don’t buy ‘em. Going to happen? A whole new dietary regime for the human race (cue vegetarians, with reason. Of course that is just a time-buying measure as the population increases. And if we are designed as omnivores Mother Nature is playing a cruel last card in her design)? I doubt it. So we get... crisps. And even then I doubt a symbol (of how many?) will do much when the chips are down.

The boss of Walkers has done all this... and doesn’t know if it’s a lot or a little. Well, I’d really wish our government, commercial, activist and even media ‘leaders’ would try and figure such things out a bit quicker before taking all sorts of PR punts to see what sticks. And then prioritize the CO2 reduction which will make the big differences first. As reduction is off the menu, I’d suggest addressing deforestation (remember your show on that?). or, closer to home, insulation for all. But that’s just me.

What also gets me very concerned is when I hear the words ‘government’ and ‘carbon market’ coming together. Money can cure a lot, but it can also sway headings when there’s a ton to be made. So if this is just a measure to get some numbers to apply to targets... oh, boy.... my kids will need to hold their breath.

I can, sort of, accept such things are better than nothing, and possibly are a hint at welcome commitments to reduce. The mention of the pricing policy that lead to such wasteful practices being dropped to the benefit of all was salutatory. But it’s only if they are done in the right ways for the right reasons. I await the TV ads with dread.

So, despite the now inevitable flip BBC climate mea culpa on what ‘just doing your job’ consumed, the question posed at the end was well made, and taken.

I await more.

* http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/strategy/

As coordination is key, I have written to DEFRA:

Thank you for this. I hope it will result in positive actions.

I often quote information from such releases, but in this case did so on the Junkk.com blog immediately as it was pertinent and topical to another issue, namely carbon labeling.

You may see merit in coordinating efforts at inter-departmental level to bring all these stands even more closely in sync to maximise the enviROI of the whole consumer supply chain.

Trust me. I'm a green ad man.

Do green and ethical claims need to be monitored? You know I like such questions.

Looking first at the headline, my immediate thought was 'isn't every claim monitored?'. I know the ASA site is alive with greenwash complaints, mostly upheld, which may explain the consumer reaction. Fool me once, shame on me... etc.

To the question in the body... er... which logo?

I made a joke a while ago that may yet turn out to be true, that soon my Smartie pack will have a CDR attached with all it is deemed I must know to 'assist' my purchase choice and disposal obligations contained therein. With of course, a CDR on that to 'assist' with its disposal in turn.

I believe we have already two health systems in place, no? And these are embraced - either legislatively or voluntarily - by some of the manufacturers and retailers but not all. In the wings we have Carbon Footprints and or food miles. Morrisons has already launched theirs (noted here, I believe), while WRAP is talking up another. And now this.

Am I going to have a clue what this is all about as I walk the aisles or watch an 8pt para scroll along the base of an ad? So... will it give advertisers credence? I don't think it will, no.

Nice use of funds though.

I also note that this initiative has been awarded an UnLtd grant. These guys are the ones who did not deem Junkk.com or RE:tie to have any social contribution or commercial application.

Brand Republic - Public distrustful of green claims in advertising

I'll repeat a bit from my answer to your other post question elsewhere.

How does this scheme fit into all the above? Extra, or instead of? And while costs need to be covered, there has to be an immediate concern on anything that is paid for by those it endorses, surely? No reason why I should I guess, but no word I can recall in the various trades of the industries involved either. Just how new is this? And how extensive?

The principle is fine, but I am unclear how it fits into the current industry and legislative frameworks already in place.

Symbolic, Shambolic

A poster on the Eco-innovation blog asked what some IKEA box symbols meant. I may not have been much help:

They're a sure sign that with waste and almost all to do with saving the planet, the process is too often usually more important than the result, symbolized by things going round and round in circles. It doesn't matter if the consumer doesn't have a clue what these things mean or what they can do to help mitigate their inevitable participation in the waste generation process, so long as the manufacturer and/or retailer meet some standards, rules or regs and at least look like they are trying to make things better. Actually it’s the same for most government/LA/quango efforts too, where bazzillions are blown telling us to recycle but few coordinated systems are provided to allow the public to do so sensibly or indeed share what can (or jar or bottle...) go where. All inspired mainly by bonus-driven targets of questionable enviROI, and way too often enforced by threats. I often stop to help folk standing in front of a skip with ‘PEP & HDPE (1-??) only’ written on the side to tell 'em the first is usually a fizzy pop bottle and the second is, or maybe isn't, the other stuff. Probably with a surveillance squad in the house opposite in case Fifi, aged 6, puts the wrong box in the slot. Jargon is all. And just what we need to save the planet is another set of complex initiatives. I’m half expecting a CDR attached to my next pack of Smarties to explain the various carbon footprint and air mile labeling schemes on top of the various supermarket opted-in charts, roundels and traffic lights on health. With a CDR on that to explain the best options for dealing with it too. Which I will not have time to get my head around as I cruise the aisles, and hence ignore. But at least it makes for a good CSR story to run an ad campaign on and wave at the legislators. I'd suggest the time may be ripe for actually getting the disposal systems in order from the moment anything comes out the ground to the point we try and avoid it going back in, with well-spaced process plants, sensible logistical systems, segregation points clearly placed and even more clearly marked and really, really clearly explained and.... a proper incentive programme in place to encourage people to believe it all goes to the right place and makes a big difference. Or, if it doesn't, or can't, be honest enough to explain that too, so folk don't drive their XC90s to the carpark to then find it's off to a Chinese landfill and get disillusioned. Treat the environment and its proactive initiatives as branded items or services to ‘sell’ like any other product, and not some complicated dirty chore with secret stuff only those ‘in the know’ can be allowed to deal with, and there may be a better level of engagement. And if a recycling option isn't ready yet, try reuse (Plug: http://www.Junkk.com is ready to share or take your suggestions on what to do with just about anything destined for the bin, which may enjoy another life). I've dallied with this arena a while, and didn't really even know what the first two meant other than 'something to do with recycling’. Or care too much anyway if no one can be bothered to help me understand easily. I just figure if it's a primary packaging material it should be and can be recyclable by now (and, while interesting and nifty, doubt I have ever bought anything or not because its pack is made from recycled materials, though it seems worthy to do and hence advise), so stick cardboard, glass, metal and probably even the odd wrong plastic in whatever doorstep box or supermarket container that comes my way. I think the 3rd symbol means you can turn the thing into a BBQ pit, and the last a Step Reebok stand, but I may be wrong:)

A little bit more on the side?

In view of the notion that spending a fortune whacking and then promoting a selection of diverse labels on the side of our packs will inform, educate and persuade us to deal with our consumer goods more environmentally, this is worth considering: Food labels 'hoodwink' shoppers

Sweet. Or, should I say, 500g/kg serving fructose.

All in the best possible taste

As it says: Finally some common sense

Couldn't agree more. But I doubt it will make a gosh-darn bit of difference.

There are vast industries feeding off (sorry) anything like this, from government to quango to the media, where stirring it up, talking about it in excited ways and then taking steps can lead to lots of lovely jobs and lucre researching, assessing, running campaigns and getting Shocked on a Sunday.

I am beginning to wonder if everything we buy will have so much that we 'need' to know it will come with its own CDR that will need viewing pre-consumption. Which is about as likely as me figuring out what all the guff on there already means.

Mind you, I just saw a news item where it seems that parents have not figured that letting their kids eat all the pies may explain why they look like the DPM.

But I'm sure they are not the kind plonked in front of the telly 24/7, so maybe another COI-budget hike may be the answer? Adland awaits the siren call. There's almost as much to be made saying don't as promoting the culprit in the first place.

How sweet is that?

A little... make that a LOT... on the side

The Guardian Climate Change Conference review is turning into something of a magnum opus, so I am revisiting, adding and editing to do it justice, so it may be a wee while in arriving.

So, by way of an interlude, I thought I'd share this.

One of the more relevant, useful... and welcome... additions to the delegate goodie bag was bottle of belu water.

Now, if instead of a near free, and just as good glass of tap I have to go for a bottle, I can't really think of any more deserving brand. Because its packaging is also a wee bit better than most others, too.

But... and it's a... nah.. let's make it just a niggle.

In light of my recent labelling ponderings, what with all and sundry doing all from just discussing to already jumping the entire armoury, I have to say I looked at my bottle and thought: 'what the heck does that mean?'.

Because, with the promise of food mile traffic lights, charts and all manner of other money-wasting nonsense yet to come from a doubtless wildly diverse collection of directions, I can now already add 'No Global Warming - Penguin Approved'. While one word may well make it technically accurate that this the 'first carbon neutral BOTTLED water and does not melt the ice caps (actually... I think they may struggle with justifying that second half. It probably melts them less quickly than the rest, but getting it up, in, out, back and down from production to compost does, I suspect, have a carbon consequence), I have no clue what that means.

And I rather suspect that, along with a load of meaningless other icons and initiatives yet to come, we will simply end up with more guff on the shelves for us to ignore.