EKKO SCORE: Australian Grown - Certified is one of the declarations under the Ekko Score Place of Origin.
Australian Grown - Certified indicates that each significant ingredient of the labelled product has been grown in Australia and all or virtually all of the production processes have occurred in Australia. It is illegal for a business to make a claim that goods were grown, produced, made or packed in a particular country when this was not the case.
Knowing that a significant part of a product has been grown in Australia allows consumers to make educated assumptions about the conditions under which it was grown, including the allowed use of chemicals in its growth. You can get more information on this Certification on the Australian Made website.
EKKO SCORE: Australian Grown - Certified sits in the AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURE Family under the Environmental Standard: Place of Origin of Ekko Score. One set of weighted Ekko Score points are gathered from each Family.
These are the claimable declarations & certifications under the Environmental Standard: Place of Origin. Please note that different certifications and declarations may be relevant to each category.
Yes, where the impact of the claim is similar. This is how it works.
IMPORTANTLY, SELF DECLARATIONS ARE GOVERNED BY CONSUMER LAW. IT IS AGAINST THE LAW FOR BUSINESSES TO MAKE FALSE CLAIMS (INCLUDING IMPLIED CLAIMS IN A CONTEXT LIKE EKKO SCORE).
EVEN IF A PRODUCT HAS A FORMAL CERTIFICATION, THAT CERTIFICATION DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ENTIRE INTEGRITY OF THE PRODUCT'S MAKE UP.
An example might be a Handmade, Australian, Certified Organic chocolate that contains Palm Oil. Under Ekko Score, this product would claim Certified Organic and would self declare: Zero Waste Production and Australian made, but could not claim the No Palm Oil declaration. This would mean a lower score under the Organic - Chemical Free Standard, making the inclusion of Palm Oil clear to potential consumers, without detracting from its other assets.
No product is perfect, but some products are definitely better than others. Ekko Score allows you to make the best decision you can, or to put it another way, the least worst decision. And to make that decision with the confidence of not being green washed. Find out more about how Ekko Score works.