According to the country’s trade ministry, the labels will provide consumers with a breakdown of the levels of carbon dioxide emitted in various stages of a product’s life cycle, including manufacture, distribution, disposal and recycling.
But even if widely adopted, observers within the advertising industry are largely sceptical as to the impact of the programme on consumers in a market with minimal understanding of the carbon footprint concept.
“I don’t think it will make any difference whatsoever,” says John Goodman, president of Ogilvy Japan, dismissing the idea as a “gimmick”.
DDB Japan chief executive and president Takeshi Takeda agreed, pointing out that consumers “do not care much” about the issue of carbon dioxide emissions.
