Consumer Agency: "Not All Products with Certification Marks Are Eco-Friendly... Some Validity Difficult to Verify"

Results of Korea Consumer Agency Survey
Half Use Environmental Certification Marks... 31.7% Find Verification Difficult

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] As corporate ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management expands recently, about half of eco-friendly advertised products use environmental certification marks, but some were found to be difficult to verify for validity.

The Korea Consumer Agency announced on the 4th that, after investigating 180 products sold on five open markets (1st Street, Gmarket, Auction, Interpark, Coupang), 91 products (50.6%) used at least one environmental certification mark.

Among these, products using statutory certification marks were the most common at 60 (65.9%), followed by overseas certification marks at 36 (39.6%), and industry self-regulatory marks at 5 (5.5%).

However, among the 60 products using statutory certification marks, 19 (31.7%) either did not display the certification number or showed it in a very small size, making it difficult for consumers to verify the validity of the certification before purchasing the product.

Additionally, among the 5 products using industry self-regulatory marks, one product used an industry self-regulatory mark that had been discontinued.

The types of overseas certification marks totaled 20, with the most used being ▲ OCS certification 11 (30.6%), ▲ FSC certification 9 (25.0%), and ▲ Nordic Ecolabel 6 (16.7%). OCS applies to products using more than 5% organic raw materials, FSC certifies that responsibly managed forest resources are used in the finished product, and the Nordic Ecolabel indicates reduced environmental impact in product production and consumption.

Among the 180 products surveyed, the most frequently used term in advertisements was "eco-friendly" at 153 (85.0%), followed by ▲ "natural" 56 (31.1%), ▲ "biodegradable" 45 (25.0%), and ▲ "organic" 41 (22.8%).

In particular, among 42 baby products surveyed, 27 products (64.3%) used two or more environmental terms, including 2 products (4.8%) that used up to 7 environmental terms.

The Korea Consumer Agency recommended 15 businesses advertising with statutory certification marks and environmental terms to include certification numbers and other evidence supporting the eco-friendly products. Four businesses accepted this and included certification numbers, while the remaining 11 businesses discontinued product sales.

Consumers are urged to verify certification status through the Green Product Information System operated by the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute if they suspect a product is falsely advertised as a statutory certified eco-friendly product.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.