Abstract
The eco-label supports "green purchase" of goods or services by emphasizing their environmental aspects. The present paper reviews the definition and the ISO classification of eco-labels, and discusses the present situation of the Eco-Mark, a representative Japanese eco-label, the characteristics of the rapidly expanding green purchase networks (GPN), and implications of the eco-labels for consumers. The Eco-Mark is based on the "Items Selection Table for Environmental Load Evaluation in Life Stages" associated with life cycle analysis. This table, although convenient, does not provide satisfactorily quantitative criteria. Moreover, the process of consensus formation in relevant working groups should be disclosed for better transparency of decisions on the guidelines. The green purchase means preferred purchase of goods and services of law environmental leads. GPNs provide purchase guidelines and data books for individual commodities which define environmental aspects to be taken into account on purchase. The networks need further increase in membership and clearer definition of information targets. Since no single eco-label system can be perfect, it is hoped to develop a label mix that comprises individual systems optimized for particular targets and products.
