Good Environmental Choice warning to manufacturers making misleading claims that are not certified under GECA Standards
Manufacturers are warned not to make claims about their compliance
or otherwise to GECA standards without having undergone a thorough independent
assessment. Such claims are considered as misleading by GECA and may be subject to
prosecution under the Trade Practices Act.
Good Environmental Choice - Australia (GECA) is the national life cycle based environmental
labelling program for consumer and building products offering an independent ecolabel
on the basis of environmental preference of products and services. With the growth and
increasing sophistication of the green procurement markets the value and assurance
provided by the Good Environmental Choice label is a key driver for effective shifts
in the market towards lower environmental impact products. GECA has now certified over
1.2B worth of consumer and building products on the market from over 75 manufacturers
delivering over 400 different product lines.
Certified manufacturers undergo a comprehensive verification of their products environmental
attributes in conformance to the GECA standard requirements as developed under ISO 14 024 -
International standard for third party environmental labelling bodies. The GECA standards are among
the most stringent environmental benchmarks for consumer and building products in Australia.
GECA was recently made aware that some manufacturers have made misleading claims about their
products' compliance to GECA standards. GECA wishes to make it very clear that it is highly
inappropriate for manufacturers who have not undergone the rigorous and thorough assessment
process carried out by GECA to claim compliance with any GECA standard. GECA is committed to
enforcing the use of the Good Environmental Choice label and the accuracy of any information
associated with any non certified manufacturers use of the standards or references to the Mark.
Such manufacturers may be:
- Intentionally misleading consumers.
- Stating compliance without having undertaken any independent testing.
- Misrepresenting which products may meet the requirements of the standard.
- Incorrectly interpreting the requirements of the standard.
If you are aware of any such breaches in relation to the use of the label or our standards please direct
them to the GECA Head Office details below.
Good Environmental Choice - Australia makes considerable efforts to ensure that only the most
environmentally preferable and high quality products are awarded GECA certification and the
international recognition this entails. This is ensured by the rigorous product-specific assessment
procedures carried out by GECA technical experts on each and every product certified under a GECA
standard.
It is highly unlikely that any product claiming to comply with GECA standards without having first
been assessed by GECA is of comparable environmental preference or quality to a genuine GECA certified
product. Good Environmental Choice - Australia considers any such claims as extremely
damaging to the integrity of the internationally recognised Good Environmental Choice label, and
disrespectful to the efforts of genuine certified manufacturers who have made great efforts to ensure
the compliance of their products to the stringent GECA standard requirements.
The market is actively looking for credible independent verification of environmental claims and such
attempts seek to undermine the procurement intent of architects, interior designers, procurement
officers and everyday Australians seeking to have a lower environmental impact.
Customers and purchasers should be aware when making their choices that only products carrying
the protected Good Environmental Choice label are compliant to GECA standards, regardless of the
claims by other manufacturers whose products do not bear the Good Environmental Choice label. The
Good Environmental Choice label is internationally recognised as the mark of life cycle based
environmental preference for Australia.
For further information contact:
Good Environmental Choice Aus.
phone: 02 6287 3100
fax: 02 6287 3800
web: www.geca.org.au
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