The Nordic Swan Ecolabel, or Svanen as its known in Northern Europe, was established in 1989 with the purpose of making it easier for consumers to identify and choose more environmentally friendly products. Today the certification covers items from toilet paper and furniture to houses and grocery stores.
Products that receive the Nordic Swan Ecolabel have been stringently assessed and deemed to meet a set of tough environmental standards that identify them as being less environmentally harmful than non-certified products. Now recognised by 96% of all Swedes, it is operated by state-owned companies in a not-for-profit manner and is not influenced by the interests of industry.
The Nordic Swan Ecolabel is a voluntary ‘Type 1’ environmental certification dictated by the ISO 14024 standard, meaning it is independent and is assessed over the entire life cycle of a product or service, from the raw materials used, its production, through its use phase and eventual disposal. This means it is comprehensive and without influence or bias.