Ecolabelling: Danish campaign

After a slow start, awareness of the EU ecolabel, the Flower, is now increasing. This spring the Danish EPA ran a campaign to promote awareness of the two ecolabels, the Flower and the Nordic Swan. An independent evaluation of the campaign shows that awareness of the Flower has quadrupled. Only 4% of consumers were previously familiar enough with the Flower to know that it is an ecolabel. Following the campaign the percentage has increased to 16%. Knowledge of the Nordic Swan ecolabel has increased from 26% to 41%.

Among the campaign’s primary target group – mothers aged 25–55 years – 26% are now familiar with the Flower while 46% are familiar with the Swan. Since the campaign women are thus clearly the population group most familiar with the ecolabels.

As a result of the campaign more people now purchase ecolabelled products. 38% of interviewed consumers have purchased ecolabelled products within the preceding six months. Prior to the campaign the figure was 32%. Once again it is the women who are in the lead: 57% of the primary target group had purchased ecolabelled products during the same period of time.

The campaign has also helped increase the supply of ecolabelled goods. The number of enterprises producing products bearing the Flower ecolabel has increased from 0 to 17 during the past 18 months and Denmark is therefore the leading country in Europe as regards Flower licences.

That the Danish EPA’s campaign has generally been a success is attributable not least to the considerable support provided by a number of enterprises and NGOs.

Further information: Bodil Harder, Danish EPA. Phone +45 3266 0596. E-mail boha@mst.dk

For information about the campaign, see the Danish EPA website: http://www.mst.dk/indu/02030000.htm

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