Group items tagged

The food giant has pivoted to advocate a national policy that requires mandatory disclosure. 

Even if you try to avoid buying plastics, you might be surprised to find it lurks in many common food and beverage containers, including tin cans, disposable coffee cups and even tea bags. On Wednesday, however, the environmental group A Plastic Planet debuted the world's first "Plastic Free Trust Mark" to help shoppers know that their products are packaged entirely without the non-biodegradable material, which harms marine life and has entered the larger food chain.

In the spirit of preservation at the heart of the National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park is setting an example and promoting sustainable building practices. The park's Living Building Challenge and LEEDv4 Platinum-certified project focus on transparency in choosing building products with labels that gauge a product's environmental and material impacts.

Coca-Cola European Partners, Avery Dennison, Viridor and PET UK have teamed up to reduce waste, costs and the carbon footprint of Smartwater production in the UK. The initiative, which turns label waste into products, was rolled out late last year in an effort by CCEP to reduce the carbon footprint of its Morpeth factory by approximately 180-200 tons of CO2. The participating parties expect to achieve annual savings of over $30,000 by simply recycling, rather than incinerating or disposing of bottle liners.

Some of the world's biggest companies are seeing waste reduction and energy efficiency as opportunities to help the bottom line. Wal-Mart is changing its sell-by labeling to reduce food waste, while IKEA is running furniture-recycling and clean-energy initiatives to reduce its costs. "We've taken power from a cost to profit center," says IKEA Chief Sustainability Officer Steve Howard.

The Senate voted 63-30 last week to pass a federal bill requiring food manufacturers to label products made with genetically modified ingredients, using either wording on packaging, a logo or a website link. The bill is expected to be considered on the House floor this week.

Walmart has agreed to pay $1 million to settle greenwashing claims that allege the nation's largest retailer sold plastic products that were misleadingly labeled "biodegradable" or "compostable" in violation of California law.

Critics of genetically modified crops protested at Monsanto Co's annual shareholders meeting on Tuesday, calling for the world's largest seed company to provide a report on contamination in non-GMO crops and to stop fighting mandatory labels on foods containing GMO ingredients.

Wal-Mart has introduced a line of "all-natural," chemical-free cleaning products under its Great Value label. The products, which are priced more cheaply than brand-name eco-friendly cleaning products, use Wal-Mart's proprietary Evolve technology, which the company says allows the products to work as effectively as petroleum-based cleaners.

Fashionistas now, for the first time, can see beyond clothing labels with the Fair Trace Tool developed by my company, fair trade fashion retailer INDIGENOUS along with Worldways Social Media. This new tool, a QR code on hang-tags, offers transparency throughout the garment's supply chain, including a glimpse of the artisans who actually made it and insight into the product's social impact. The content is delivered in text, video and animated map format.

CEH filed lawsuits against four personal care product manufacturers after it found evidence of a toxic substance, cocamide Diethanolamine (cocamide DEA) in their shampoos, soaps and other personal care products. The nonprofit firm also sent letters to approximately 100 firms whose products also tested positive.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has something to say about what you wear. While not a fashion arbiter and unable to advise on attire for family gatherings, the FTC oversees what appears on the labels inside your clothes.

China is building ecocities in droves. Dozens of these green-branded, new frontiers of urbanism are already in an advanced state of development, and upwards of 200 more are on the way. In fact, over 80 per cent of all prefecture level cities in the country (the administrative division below "province") have at least one ecocity project in the works. Over the coming decades, it has been estimated, 50 per cent of China's new urban developments will be stamped with labels such as "eco," "green," "low carbon," or "smart".

"Non-GMO" is one of the fastest-growing label trends on U.S. food packages, with sales of such items growing 28% last year to about $3 billion, according to market-research firm Nielsen. In a poll of nearly 1,200 U.S. consumers for The Wall Street Journal, Nielsen found that 61% of consumers had heard of GMOs and nearly half of those people said they avoid eating them. The biggest reason was because it "doesn't sound like something I should eat."

Walmart launched its Sustainability Leaders shop, an online shopping portal that enables customers to identify and purchase products from suppliers that have integrated organizational changes to manufacture goods in a manner that surpasses the efforts of their competitors.

Whole Foods launched the Responsibly Grown rating system, which evaluates produce based on environmental and health impacts. Products will carry a "good," "better," or "best" label based on their rating.

The non-GMO labeling movement received a big boost last week when PepsiCo announced that it would begin including the Non-GMO Project's butterfly seal on the Tropicana juice line. "Tropicana Pure Premium is non-GMO, and it always has been," said brand chief Björn Bernemann. "Some consumers, however, are expressing a desire to get beyond what brands are actually telling them, and we felt having external verification would give our consumers assurance." 

British supermarket group Sainsbury's has launched its own in-house sustainability standard, provoking backlash from The Fairtrade Foundation and Fairtrade producers alike. Developed as part of its Sustainability Standards Program, the 'Fairly Traded' label is Sainsbury's attempt to simplify the complex landscape of certifications, while providing more direct support to farmers. But the Fairtrade community fears the move will put the producer-buyer relationship out of whack, with producers ultimately coming out on the losing end.

FabScrap works with 135 labels across the city, collecting and recycling their textile waste including swatches and items of clothing.

According to these goals, by the year 2022, Target will: source its own brand paper-based packaging from sustainably managed forests, eliminate expanded polystyrene from its brand packaging, add the How2Recycle label to its packaging, and create more demand for recycled packaging. Additionally, Target has partnered with The Recycling Partnership to fund improved recycling operations and education in cities and towns across the country. To date, more than 30 companies are behind The Recycling Partnership's work to improve recycling in more than 250 communities. Target is the organization's first retail partner.