MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Trade and Industry is urging consumers to shift to eco-friendly products and services, especially those marked with the Green Choice seal, to encourage manufacturers and service providers to “green” their standards and processes.
According to DTI Bureau of Product Standards officer in charge Cirila Botor, the Green Choice seal is the country’s version of the eco-label, which identifies products and services that pass certain environmental standards and regulations.
The seal, issued under the DTI’s National Eco-Labeling Program-Green Choice Philippines and administered through the Philippine Center for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development, is given to products and services that meet a set of environmental criteria.
The criteria are based on the principles and procedures of ISO 14024 on environmental labels and declarations, particularly the rules under Type I environmental labeling or eco-labeling.
Eco-labels are product- and facility-specific, and can be issued to products sold and services rendered in the Philippines, regardless of country of origin.
Application for eco-labels is not mandatory but it is encouraged.
Botor said consumers could compel manufacturers and service providers to shift to sustainable processes, practices, and technologies by choosing to buy only products and tap only services marked with the Green Choice seal.
“Patronizing products and services with the Green Choice seal would create a market drive for manufacturers and service providers to go green so as to gain consumers’ confidence and increase competitiveness. Thus, we urge industries to adopt green processes, and consumers to buy products stamped with the Green Choice seal to promote sustainable production and consumption in the country,” Botor said.
Specific products bearing the Green Choice seal come from a wide range of categories, including cement (Island Portland Cement, Rizal Super Portland Cement, Cemex Palitada King, Apo Pozzoland and Apo Premium Cement), floor and wall ceramic tiles (Mariwasa Siam Ceramics) and automotive engine oil (AGIP Diesel Sigma Plus Engine Oil, AGIP Extra HTS Engine Oil and XTEC Fully Synthetic Engine Oil).
Also included in the Green Choice roster of products are synthetic laundry detergent (Surf and Pride), organic infill material (Naturalfill International Corp.), test liner paper board (United Pulp and Paper Co.), all-in-one multipurpose solution plant extract (Trevis Internationale Corp.), LVD induction lamps (Monrio Industrial Corp.), paint (NVIRO Eco-safe Permaseal), multifunction printing device (Ricoh), LED (Fujimoto International Technology Corp.) and electronic ballasts (BAG Electronics).
A number of paper products also bear the Green Choice seal, including paper hand towel (Kleenex, Scottfold, Scott Compact Towel, Scott Hand Towel, Harmony and Eco-Hygiene), bathroom tissue paper (Fresh, Smart Choice, Moon, Eco-hygiene, Kami, Fookwoo and Dear Green), facial tissue paper (Smile and Eco-hygiene), and table napkin (Harmony).