“This policy brief aims to provide a brief introduction to eco-labelling and some of the
implications that the presence of eco-labels may have on developing countries. Eco-labelling by implication links environmental with trade and market access issues. Eco- labels (or environmental labels) are a guide for consumers to choose products and
services that are deemed to be less harmful to the environment than other products within
the same category. Eco-labels are designed to encourage industries to produce more
environmentally-friendly products through consumers’ purchasing power – which translates into a “bottom-up” solution. Although the distribution of eco-labels is largely concentrated in the highly industrialised countries (mainly the European Union (EU)), they may nonetheless
have increasingly significant future consequences for developing countries, especially in terms of their trade with developed countries.”
