Recycling labels helping to make brands more sustainable

Recycling labels have helped to make customers think about sustainable sourcing and production, but there is still a way to go, writes Charlotte Reid.

SustainAbility, a think tank that looks at sustainable trends and issues, are set to release a report that says recycling labels and certificates have improved business practices.

The report, called Signed, Sealed … Delivered?, says improvements in recycling labels have allowed businesses to demand for better sustainable outcomes. As a result, this has improved lives and livelihoods within the supply chain, and helped to regenerate resources.

The report, which is officially released later in November, also says that third party labelling of goods is trusted more by the customer than own brand claims are.

The underlying aim of recycling labels is to change how businesses work, so the report says it is not right to label everything, but instead create a new business model where sustainability will become part of the market and a business’ DNA.

However, SustainAbility says that a future where customers are aware that a brand is sustainable rather than having to rely upon labels is “desirable“, but that point has not been reached yet. Until then, labels and certificates will help to lead the way.

This comes after GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition developed a new recycling label system in order to provide people with clearer information. They said people were getting confused by the number of different existing labels.

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