Legal conditions for a general sustainability label

A large number of labels now exist for labelling the ecological and social characteristics of products and services. However, each of these labels only covers partial aspects of sustainability. There are therefore many calls for a general, cross-product sustainability label that signals to consumers in a compact form that all important sustainability criteria have been met. The project analyses the following legal aspects:

• What is the existing legal framework for product labelling?
• What requirements must be observed from a constitutional, European and international trade law perspective when introducing a standardised general sustainability label?
• To what extent can the state specify the award criteria for a general sustainability label, control the award of the label and monitor and sanction compliance with the criteria?
• What options are there for regulating the (existing) optional private product labels more closely, in particular through stronger control and sanction instruments and publication obligations?