Voluntary Eco-Labels in International Trade Law: A Case Study of the EU Eco-Label

Du, M

doi:10.1093/jel/eqaa022

Voluntary Eco-Labels in International Trade Law: A Case Study of the EU Eco-Label

Du, M

Authors

Professor Ming Du ming.du@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

One category of voluntary approaches to environmental governance is ecolabels used to nudge consumers towards purchasing environmentally friendly products. The purpose of this article is to critically review the trade law implications of voluntary ecolabels, with special reference to the EU Ecolabel. For a long time, the lack of trade disputes related to the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) before the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body rendered research on the legality of voluntary ecolabels in trade law unavoidably speculative. Consequently, the existing scholarship has failed to inform the environment law community clearly how trade law views voluntary ecolabels. This article aims to fill the gap in the literature by evaluating the consistency of the EU Ecolabel with the TBT rules. The article concludes that it is highly unlikely that the EU Ecolabel may be found inconsistent with the TBT Agreement. Nevertheless, there remains some legal risks.

Citation

Du, M. (2021). Voluntary Eco-Labels in International Trade Law: A Case Study of the EU Eco-Label. Journal of Environmental Law, 33(1), 167-193. https://doi.org/10.1093/jel/eqaa022

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Sep 23, 2020
Online Publication Date	Oct 13, 2021
Publication Date	2021-03
Deposit Date	Sep 24, 2020
Publicly Available Date	Oct 13, 2022
Journal	Journal of Environmental Law
Print ISSN	0952-8873
Electronic ISSN	1464-374X
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	33
Issue	1
Pages	167-193
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1093/jel/eqaa022

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Copyright Statement
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Journal of environmental law following peer review. The version of record Ming Du, Voluntary Ecolabels in International Trade Law: A Case Study of the EU Ecolabel, Journal of Environmental Law, Volume 33, Issue 1, March 2021, Pages 167–193 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/jel/eqaa022.