Study on the status and improvement plans of the environmentally friendly product certification system

A strong need has been raised for the management of eco-friendly products that is product-centered rather than site-centered, and the consumers’ awareness has changed showing increased interest in eco-friendly products.

In this study, the current status of eco-friendly product certification system such as organic certification inclusive of foods, Eco-Label, GR mark, and HB mark was investigated through literature review. This study also referred to the 2016 National Awareness Survey on ecofriendly products for some data. The current status of eco-friendly certified products and consumer survey results were analyzed to identify the impediments to the development of the certification system.

Results showed that impediments to the development of eco-friendly certification system involve difficulties consumers’ experience in purchasing eco-friendly products such as lack of diversity in items compared to general products and high price due to increased overall cost from raw material cost, technology development cost and certification fee. In addition, it was found that, because of the differences in the characteristics of certifying organization for respective certifications, faulty evaluations of certain certification agencies can cause reliability issues for all eco-friendly products.

To further develop the eco-friendly product certification system, it is necessary to expand the selection of options for individual consumers by diversifying certified items and implement support policies for securing price competitiveness of certified items. To secure credibility of the certification system, an evaluation index and guideline should be established for each certification system. Public information system should be created so that consumers can check and assess relevant information, and post-screening for certified products must be are reinforced.