work
Make the label count
Under the EU Green Deal, the European Commission (EC) was considering substantiating sustainability claims with a unified methodology. If a lifecycle Assessment (LCA)-based Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology had been used to substantiate green claims in the EU, crucial attributes such as circularity, microplastic release, and plastic waste would be overlooked. This would stand to impact claim efficacy and credibility and consumers could be unable to make truly informed decisions at point-of-purchase.
Eco-Age worked with its client and EU lobbying agency partner to form an international coalition, Make The Label Count (MTLC), to raise awareness of the importance of accurate and complete sustainability labelling and to engage in productive conversations at European Commission level.
The lobbying campaign engages policymakers, plugs knowledge gaps, and sparks much-needed conversation around the way the impact of our clothing is measured.
Leading up to the launch of Make the Label Count, Eco-Age published a range of contributions to increase industry understanding of fashion sustainability, including docufilm Fashionscapes: A Circular Economy, the Cradle newsletter series, and the Great Green Washing Machine reports #1 and #2.
With Eco-Age’s support, Make the Label Count officially launched in October 2021 at a hybrid event in Brussels. Livia Firth, Eco-Age’s Co Founder and Creative Director, gave a key note speech, and we secured coverage in press in titles such as The Guardian, British Vogue, and Euronews.
The coalition has had over 40 meetings with EU institutional stakeholders, orchestrated open letters to EU President Von der Leyen and Commissioner for Environment Sinkevičius, hosted an onsite wool visit for Members of European Parliament, and published an op-ed in POLITICO.
As part of wider engagement, MTLC has also featured in industry press, participated a range of webinars and panel discussions, and formed collaborative connections to drive transparency and accuracy in the green claims space.
On 22 March 2023, the European Commission published its Substantiating Green Claims Directive, and notably, had listened to the concerns raised by MTLC and other industry groups and decided not to pursue a single methodology such as PEF to substantiate green claims.
We're proud to be Clean Creatives!
We've joined a global movement of ad and PR professionals saying no to fossil fuel clients