Eco Products

Certificates and labels: how to tell real «eco» from marketing

Sections

  • Official labels

    Green Crane (UA), EU Ecolabel (flower), Organic Standard (UA), USDA Organic, Demeter — only these guarantee verification.

  • Marketing vs certificate

    Words «eco», «natural», «bio» without a certification logo are just marketing. A real certificate has a number verifiable in the body's registry.

  • For producers

    Organic certification: 2–3 year transition, annual audit, field/workshop logs. Cost — from ~30k UAH/yr for a small producer.

  • What buyers check

    QR/cert number on packaging → certification body registry → validity. For organics — each batch has a transaction certificate.

  • Eco-packaging

    «Compostable» only per EN 13432; «biodegradable» without a standard is marketing. Recycling marks: Mobius + material code.

Main rule: no certification mark with a number — no guarantees.