Eco-battle brews as 2 firms seek seal role

Would you buy a roll of toilet paper with the Green Cross orGreen Seal mark on the label?

Welcome to the latest battle for your dollars in theeco-marketing wars.

On Wednesday, two major ecological seal-of-approval companiesannounced big partnerships to get manufacturers to hire the testersto check out products for environmental correctness.

Green Seal, a non-profit independent labeling company based inWashington, D.C., announced that Northbrook-based UnderwritersLaboratories will test products for its environmental labelingprogram by its launch at yearend.

Meanwhile, Oakland, Calif.-based Green Cross signed a deal forthe Good Housekeeping Institute to help it run public hearings on itsown eco-labeling program, which has been under way since April.

Neither of the seals have appeared on products in the Chicagoarea.

"Consumers don't have the necessary guidance to make a choice onthe environmental claims that are out there," said Susan Alexander ofGreen Seal. "Our job is to give consumers what they need to make thebest choice for an environmentally safe product."

Linda Brown of competing Green Cross says there is no currentmeans outside of private testing laboratories to confirm and reportwhether, for example, certain harmful chemicals and bleaches arepresent in some toilet paper brands.

"First, we want to confirm these claims, and then identifyproducts that are better for the environment over all."

Here's how it works: A product manufacturer comes to the testingservice with a product it wants checked for ecological safety.

The manufacturer pays for the test, which either wins ordoesn't win the testing agent's seal of approval.

Green Cross conducts scientific tests to certify specificproducts' questions such as biodegradability, recyclable contentlevel and other ingredient and performance claims. Green Cross saidthat it rejects two of every three products it tests.

When it's up and running, Green Seal plans to run tests based ona product's environmental impact.

While it sounds like both these non-profit companies are doingthe same thing, each is critical of the other's testing philosophy.

Green Cross, for example, says it scrutinizes everything fromthe manufacturing process, to the packaging and effectiveness of theproduct, but that Green Seal doesn't go far enough with its testingphilosophy.

Meanwhile, Green Seal says its competitor has been "toosecretive" about its methodology, and defends its own testingprocedure as every bit as thorough.

Clorox recently sponsored a supermarket promotion in Californiausing the Green Cross seal to sell its Clorox II bleach. Cloroxspokeswoman Sandy Sullivan said she isn't sure how much better thepowdered bleach sold with the label attached, but consumers will belooking more for such markings in the future.

"Traditionally, it's been price and performance sellingproducts," Sullivan said. "Now, it's the environmental impact of theproduct you sell. We feel this issue will be around a long time."

A spokeswoman for Underwriters Laboratories says environmentaltesting is a logical extension for its service. "We've already had acommitment to educating consumers on product safety, and theenvironmental side of it is something we naturally are moving into."