Consumer confusion adding to the waste pile (with Naomi Scott-Mearns & Seema Shandil)

Claims, labels, logos and symbols… Check your pantry, in the grocery store, the stuff you buy online. You might go as far as saying that all across the board, products are covered with symbols claiming eco-friendliness, solar power usage, recyclability, plastic content reduced, bioplastics, circularity, saving soil, saving water, no by-catch, compostable, biodegradable… something with green arrows… But what do they all mean, and despite the intentions, how do they end up contributing to the waste pile, rather than reducing it? As consumers we’re navigating narrow paths, trying to make mindful purchases. Surrounded by all these claims, labels, logos and symbols it’s easy to get confused or even angry. We’re all just trying to do the right thing. Right!? Guests are Naomi Scott-Mearns, Consumers International and Seema Shandil, Consumer Council of Fiji. In this episode, you’ll learn how consumer confusion adds to the waste pile, where the responsibility to clear out this mess lies, what some of the great resources are for companies that genuinely want to help their customers, what we can learn from the development of nutrition labelling, and how the island nation Fiji deals with waste collection and the consequences of trash in the ocean. Spoiler-alert! This time, we will leave you in despair... Sources The definition of ecolabels (Wikipedia), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecolabel Ecolabel Index, http://www.ecolabelindex.com Consumer Council Fiji, http://www.consumersfiji.org Consumers International, https://www.consumersinternational.org Report “Can I recycle this” (Consumers International), https://www.oneplanetnetwork.org/resource/can-i-recycle-global-mapping-and-assessment-standards-labels-and-claims-plastic-packaging Launch webinar of “Can I Recycle This?” (Consumers International), https://www.youtube.com/user/SCPClearinghouse/videos Guidelines for Providing Product Sustainability Information (UN Environment and ITC), https://www.oneplanetnetwork.org/resource/guidelines-providing-product-sustainability-information The One Planet Network, https://www.oneplanetnetwork.org Eco-labelling (UNEP), https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/resource-efficiency/what-we-do/responsible-industry/eco-labelling Support our work through Patreon and Paypal You can make a one-time donation through Paypal or even a monthly donation, starting at 5 USD, through Patreon. Your contribution will help us create more episodes of Love Zero Waste, with even richer content. However small or big your contribution is, your support means the world to us! https://www.patreon.com/lovezerowaste https://www.paypal.me/lovezerowaste Credits Hosts and creators: Malin Leth and Evelina Lundqvist Jingle by Michael Steinkellner of Merlinn Sound, http://merlinnsound.com Initiators of the Love Zero Waste community: Evelina Lundqvist and Alexandra Poetz Love Zero Waste is a collaboration between Circulous, http://circulous.biz and The Good Tribe, http://thegoodtribe.com.