Feb 2012

Ecologo is an environmental organization formed by the Canadian government in 1988 to formulate and set up certification systems for ecolabels.   According to the group: “EcoLogo is North America’s largest, most respected environmental standard and certification mark. EcoLogo provides customers – public, corporate and consumer – with assurance that the products and services bearing the logo meet stringent standards of environmental leadership.  The EcoLogo Program is a Type I eco-label, as defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This means that the Program compares products/services with others in the same category, develops rigorous and scientifically relevant criteria that reflect the entire lifecycle of the product, and awards the EcoLogo to those that are verified by an independent third party as complying with the criteria.”    The new toy standard, CCD-172, was announced on February 10 2012 and claims that the standards criteria for safety and environmental protection exceed or meet those in place in the US or EU for toy toxicity, although it is not officially recognized by the US government for such purposes.   In 1990, the European Commission has in place the Directive for Toy Safety, adherence of which allows the CE Mark to be used.   The US has numerous mandatory standards in place for the heavily regulated toy sector, a focus of mandatory labeling and safety certification.  A focus of the sector in 2007 was multiple incidents associated with Chinese made toys, many branded by leading US and European multinationals, including Mattel.