Principles and Guidelines for Environmental Labelling and Advertising - Appendices

Preamble
Scope
Application
Guiding Principles
Guidelines for Environmental Claims

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Table of Contents

1. Members of the Working Group
2. Environmental Choice Program
3. National Packaging Protocol (NAPP)
4. Glossary of Terms (NAPP)
5. Excerpts
   • A. Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act
   • B. Competition Act

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Appendix 1 - Members of the Working Group

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Association of Canadian Advertisers
Canadian Advertising Foundation
Canadian Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association
Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors
Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment

• National Task Force on Packaging

Canadian Manufacturers of Chemical Specialties Association
Canadian Pulp and Paper Association
Composting Council of Canada
Industry Canada

• Consumer Products Directorate
• Marketing Practices Branch

Consumers' Association of Canada
Environment Canada

• Environmental Choice Program

Grocery Products Manufacturers of Canada
Packaging Association of Canada
Paper & Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council
Retail Council of Canada

NOTE: In addition to the above list, consultation was undertaken with a broad range of environmental groups, legal firms, industries, foreign governments and all levels of government in Canada.

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Appendix 2 - Environmental Choice Program

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Environmental Choice was created by Environment Canada to help consumers identify products and services that ease the burden on the environment. The EcoLogo is the symbol of certification that appears on products and services that meet the Environmental Choice product/service-specific criteria. The symbol and the words "EcoLogo" and "Environmental Choice" are Official Marks of Environment Canada and cannot be used without a licence issued, or special permission granted, by Environmental Choice.

The product/service-specific criteria are set by the Environmental Choice Board, a body appointed by the federal Minister of the Environment, operating at arm's length from Government. For each set of criteria developed, a life-cycle study of the product or service is conducted. The purpose of the study is to identify which aspects of the life-cycle (manufacture, transport, use or disposal) offer opportunities to reduce significantly the product's or service's negative impacts on the environment.

Each set of product/service-specific environmental criteria is contained in a draft guideline that is made available for a public review period of 60 days. During this period, manufacturers, environmentalists, consumers and the general public may submit suggestions for the improvement of the criteria. The guideline is then finalized.

Once a guideline is final, manufacturers of products and purveyors of services may submit their products or services for testing against the criteria. An independent technical agency is under contract with Environmental Choice to test products and services against the criteria and to undertake periodic inspections to ensure they continue to measure up. Manufacturers and purveyors of services are required to pay for the initial test, as well as an annual fee to use the EcoLogo that is based on gross annual sales of the licensed product or service.

As of May 1993, over 800 products and services from some 140 companies bear the EcoLogo. The EcoLogo can be issued under the following final guidelines: re-refined motor oil, insulation from recycled wood-based cellulose fibre, products made from recycled plastic, zinc-air batteries, non-rechargeable batteries, reduced-pollution water-based paints, fine paper from recycled paper, miscellaneous products from recycled paper, newsprint from recycled paper, heat recovery ventilators, reusable cloth diapers, reduced-pollution solvent-based paints, ethanol-blended gasoline, residential composters, reusable utility bags, diaper services, water-conserving products, energy-efficient lights, and major household appliances. Other new guidelines are under development. All draft guidelines must receive Board as well as Ministerial approval before they are issued in final form.

Environmental Choice
107 Sparks Street, 2nd Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H3
Telephone: (613) 952-9439
Fax: (613) 952-9465

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Appendix 3 - National Packaging Protocol (NAPP)

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In April 1989, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) recognized the magnitude of the waste management problem in Canada and set a goal of 50 percent reduction in waste generation by the year 2000. In order to address this problem, CCME commissioned a National Task Force on Packaging to develop a national policy for the management of packaging. After preparing an extensive technical database on packaging and conducting Canada-wide consultations, the Task Force produced the National Packaging Protocol, which recommends six packaging policies for Canada. Canadian Environment Ministers endorsed the protocol in March 1990.

The six packaging policies constitute a plan of action, with specific waste reduction targets and schedules, that will reduce the burden of packaging waste through three achievable targets: 20 percent in 1992, 35 percent in 1996, and 50 percent by the year 2000.

To meet the milestone targets, the National Packaging Protocol recommends six policies for Canada:

Policy 1: All packaging shall have minimum effects on the environment.

Policy 2: Priority will be given to the management of packaging through source reduction, reuse and recycling.

Policy 3: A continuing campaign of information and education will be undertaken to make all Canadians aware of the function and environmental impacts of packaging.

Policy 4: These policies will apply to all packaging used in Canada, including imports.

Policy 5: Regulations will be implemented as necessary to achieve compliance with these policies.

Policy 6: All government policies and practices affecting packaging will be consistent with these national policies.

Canada's National Packaging Protocol is being implemented by a broad range of actions that will address the many facets of packaging issues. Implementation actions are closely linked to the specific statements that make up the Protocol.

For more information, contact:

Environment Canada
Office of Waste Management
Conservation and Protection
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H3
Telephone: (819) 997-3060

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Appendix 4 - Glossary of Terms (NAPP)

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Compostable: A material that is capable of biodegradation in a composting system.

Degradable: Used to denote the ability of a material to break down significantly in a land or water eco-system.

Bio - the prefix denoting ability to break down biologically by means of micro-organisms.

Photo - the prefix denoting ability to break down through the action of light.

Package/packaging: A material or item that is used to protect, contain, or transport a commodity or product. A package can also be a material or item that is physically attached to a product or its container for the purpose of marketing the product or communicating information about the product.

Post-use material: Material which can no longer be used for its intended purpose and is separated from the waste stream for recycling. Post-use material includes:

Post-consumer material - Material generated by commercial and institutional facilities, or households, which can no longer be used for its intended purpose; and

Industrial scrap - Material left over from an industrial process that is not capable of being reused or reprocessed within the same plant or process. (Example: boxboard trim)

Post-use material excludes the in- plant reutilization of materials, such as re-work, re-grind, re-pulp, or scrap materials generated within the plant and capable of being reused within the process that generated it.

Recovery: The process of reutilizing material or energy from solid waste.

Recyclable: Packages made from materials which after use can be diverted from the waste stream and recycled into a new product or package.

For the purposes of promoting a material as recyclable, a material may be deemed recyclable where at least one third (1/3) of the population across Canada has convenient access to collection or drop-off facilities for recycling the material, or where the material is produced for a regional market, that one third (1/3) of the population in that market has convenient access to collection or drop-off facilities for recycling.

Recycled content: The portion of a package's weight that is composed of reprocessed post-use materials.

Recycling: A process through which post-use materials are separated from the waste stream, collected and processed for transformation into new products.

Reuse: The direct reapplication of a package, for the same or different purpose in its original form.

Source reduction: The elimination of packaging or reduction of the weight, volume or toxicity of packaging.

Waste: Any material, product or by-product which is discarded for final disposal.

Waste minimization: The reduction of waste through source reduction, reuse and recycling activities.

NOTE: This glossary has been developed in the context of reducing packaging waste. When used for labelling and advertising claims, any reference to "packaging" in this glossary may be used to apply to materials or products as well.

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Appendix 5

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- Excerpts from the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and the Competition Act

A. Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act

- An Act respecting the packaging, labelling, sale, importation and advertising of prepackaged and certain other products; (Sections 2, 7 and 9.)

2. In this Act,

"advertise" means make any representation to the public by any means whatever, other than a label, for the purpose of promoting directly or indirectly the sale of a product;

"dealer" means a person who is a retailer, manufacturer, processor or producer of a product, or a person who is engaged in the business of importing, packing or selling any product;

"label" means any label, mark, sign, device, imprint, stamp, brand, ticket or tag;

"prepackaged product" means any product that is packaged in a container in such a manner that it is ordinarily sold to or used or purchased by a consumer without being re-packaged;

"product" means any article that is or may be the subject of trade or commerce but does not include land or any interest therein; and

"sell" includes

(a) offer for sale, expose for sale and have in possession for sale, and

(b) display in such manner as to lead to a reasonable belief that the substance or product so displayed is intended for sale.

Representations relating to prepackaged products

7. (1) No dealer shall apply to any prepackaged product or sell, import into Canada or advertise any prepackaged product that has applied to it a label containing any false or misleading representation that relates to or may reasonably be regarded as relating to that product.

Definition of "false or misleading representation"

(2) For the purposes of this section, "false or misleading representation" includes

(a) any representation in which expressions, words, figures, depictions or symbols are used, arranged or shown in a manner that may reasonably be regarded as qualifying the declared net quantity of a prepackaged product or as likely to deceive a consumer with respect to the net quantity of a prepackaged product;

(b) any expression, word, figure, depiction or symbol that implies or may reasonably be regarded as implying that a prepackaged product contains any matter not contained in it or does not contain any matter in fact contained in it; and

(c) any description or illustration of the type, quality, performance, function, origin or method of manufacture or production of a prepackaged product that may reasonably be regarded as likely to deceive a consumer with respect to the matter so described or illustrated.

Containers of prepackaged products

9. (1) No dealer shall sell, import into Canada or advertise any prepackaged product that is packaged in a container that has been manufactured, constructed or filled or is displayed in such a manner that a consumer might reasonably be misled with respect to the quality or quantity of the product.

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B. Competition Act

- An Act to provide for the general regulation of trade and commerce in respect of conspiracies, trade practices and mergers affecting competition; (Sections 52 and 53)

Misleading advertising

52. (1) No person shall, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, the supply or use of a product or for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, any business interest, by any means whatever,

(a) make a representation to the public that is false or misleading in a material respect;

(b) make a representation to the public in the form of a statement, warranty or guarantee of the performance, efficacy or length of life of a product that is not based on an adequate and proper test thereof, the proof of which lies on the person making the representation;

(c) make a representation to the public in a form that purports to be

(i) a warranty or guarantee of a product, or

(ii) a promise to replace, maintain or repair an article or any part thereof or to repeat or continue a service until it has achieved a specified result

if the form of purported warranty or guarantee or promise is materially misleading or if there is a no reasonable prospect that it will be carried out; or

(d) make a materially misleading representation to the public concerning the price at which a product or like products have been, are or will be ordinarily sold, and for the purposes of this paragraph a representation as to price is deemed to refer to the price at which the product has been sold by sellers generally in the relevant market unless it is clearly specified to be the price at which the product has been sold by the person by whom or on whose behalf the representation is made.

Deemed representation to public

(2) For the purposes of this section and section 53, a representation that is

(a) expressed on an article offered or displayed for sale, its wrapper or container,

(b) expressed on anything attached to, inserted in or accompanying an article offered or displayed for sale, its wrapper or container, or anything on which the article is mounted for display or sale,

(c) expressed on an in-store or other point-of-purchase display,

(d) made in the course of in-store, door-to-door or telephone selling to a person as ultimate user, or

(e) contained in or on anything that is sold, sent, delivered, transmitted or in any other manner whatever made available to a member of the public,

shall be deemed to be made to the public by and only by the person who caused the representation to be so expressed, made or contained and, where that person is outside Canada, by

(f) the person who imported the article into Canada, in a case described in paragraph (a), (b), or (e), and

(g) the person who imported the display into Canada, in a case described in paragraph (c).

Idem

(3) Subject to subsection (2), every one who, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, the supply or use of a product or any business interest, supplies to a wholesaler, retailer or other distributor of a product any material or thing that contains a representation of a nature referred to in subsection (1) shall be deemed to have made that representation to the public.

General impression to be considered

(4) In any prosecution for a contravention of this section, the general impression conveyed by a representation as well as the literal meaning thereof shall be taken into account in determining whether or not the representation is false or misleading in a material respect.

Offence and punishment

(5) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and liable

(a) on conviction on indictment, to a fine in the discretion of the court or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both; or

(b) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both. R.S., c. C-23, s. 36; 1974- 75-76, c. 76, s. 18.

Representation as to reasonable test and publication of testimonials

53. (1) No person shall, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, the supply or use of any product, or for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, any business interest,

(a) make a representation to the public that a test as to the performance, efficacy or length of life of the product has been made by any person, or

(b) publish a testimonial with respect to the product,

unless he can establish that

(c) the representation or testimonial was previously made or published by the person by whom the test was made or the testimonial was given, as the case may be, or

(d) the representation or testimonial was, before being made or published, approved and permission to make or publish it was given in writing by the person by whom the test was made or the testimonial was given, as the case may be,

and the representation or testimonial accords with the representation or testimonial previously made, published or approved.

Offence and punishment

(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and liable

(a) on conviction or indictment, to a fine in the discretion of the court or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both; or

(b) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both. 1974-75-76, c. 76, s. 18.2.