Migros Wants to Clear Up the Label Jungle
Migros plans to use the «M-Check» to uniformly label sustainable products in the future. However, the Foundation for Consumer Protection is critical of the plan, and the environmental organization WWF believes that the proposed labels could be misleading.
Migros has previously carried a wide variety of sustainability labels in its product range. This could have caused confusion among consumers. Migros is now addressing this issue, the retailer announced in a press release: The «M-Check» is designed to make a product’s key sustainability features visible at a glance. The «M-Check» is intended to serve as a guide through the jungle of labels and increase transparency.
As a result, the added value of the products is now visualized and explained using symbols. The sustainability features listed relate, for example, to cultivation, the supply chain, and packaging. For example, Migros« iconic iced tea is labeled as coming from »responsible tea cultivation« and made from »recycled packaging material.” More detailed information is also available at M-check.ch compiled. The new label is now being introduced step by step.
Credible or hypocritical?
For the «M-Check,» Migros draws on the guidelines of established certification organizations. In addition, however, Migros’s own sustainability initiatives are also listed, such as ecological packaging optimizations or efforts to improve animal welfare. According to Migros, independent bodies such as Procert are responsible for monitoring these initiatives.
The Foundation for Consumer Protection (SKS) remains critical of the plan, however. In an interview with SRF SKS Managing Director Sara Stalder says there are concerns that Migros will now unilaterally decide what is sustainable and what is not. This, she says, gives customers a false sense of transparency instead of simplifying the confusion caused by the jungle of labels. The environmental organization WWF also commented to SRF critical of Migros‘ project. While the goal behind the initiative is certainly commendable—given that there is indeed confusion regarding the wide variety of labels—some of Migros« sustainability claims are nevertheless unclear. For example, the term »optimized plant protection” is too complex for consumers to understand. (pd/ank)
