Certification & Labeling
An Oregon Perspective on Certification & Labeling
 Deborah Kane
Executive Director
The Food Alliance
Many consumers exhibit preferences for environmental amenities, either directly through polls or surveys, or by participating in outdoor activities, environmental organizations or causes, or undertaking conservation, recycling, or other stewardship activities. Generally missing, however, has been the opportunity for these same consumers to cast meaningful votes that would reflect their personal ideologies in the marketplace. They have lacked information and opportunity.
Every day, consumers purchase billions of dollars worth of goods and services, and every day consumers make choices about which products they will buy and which they won't. Certification and labeling programs provide consumers with information about how products are produced. Rather than focusing on product attributes per se, certification and labeling programs are process focused. For example:
- Was the product produced in a sustainable manner?
- Was effort made to minimize environmental impacts?
- Were the workers involved in the production of the product provided with safe and fair working conditions?
Most label or certification programs can be classified as either first-party, or third-party claims. Otherwise known as a 'self-endorsement,' first-party claims are made by manufacturers to promote the positive social or environmental aspects of their products. Third-party certification is considered preferable, and carried out by independent or governmental organizations. Third-party certification programs typically evaluate products based on a set of publicly defined criteria or product tests.
In providing consumers with information about the social and environmental impact of their purchase, we allow consumers to use their purchasing power to support their values and beliefs. As consumer support for certification or labeling programs grows, manufacturers and producers are given incentive and marketplace rewards for their efforts to adopt sustainable production practices.
This mix of credible standards, consumer acceptance and marketplace reward can be a powerful tool for achieving a more environmentally sound, economically viable and socially just economy.
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The Food Alliance