UMass Lowell NewsPage 1 of 5
COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING
N E W S R E L E A S E
Sept. .. 2004
Contacts:Patti McCafferty, 978-934-3238,
Karen Angelo, 978-447-1438,
UMass Lowell Toxics Use Reduction Institute Helps First North American Company Win European Eco-Label for Cleaning Product
LOWELL – The Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts Lowell has helped a cleaning supply company be awarded the first European Union Eco-label in North America.
TURI’s Surface Solutions Laboratory, under the direction of Carole LeBlanc, provided the technical assessment necessary for Cogent Environmental Solutions of Caledon, Ontario, Canada, to receive the European Eco-label for an all-purpose cleaner. The voluntary label is designed to encourage businesses to market products and services that are kinder to the environment and help European consumers – both public and private purchasers – to easily identify them.
The Eco-label license allows Cogent to use the official Flower logo on its Ecogent General PurposeCleaner (exclusively manufactured by Chemspec of Baltimore, Maryland, USA) to promote the product to more than 375 million consumers in the European Union.
“The Eco-label provides companies an easy way for their products to be identified as environmentally friendly by consumers which gives them a unique advantage over other products,” said LeBlanc, TURI’s laboratory director.
In applying for the license, Cogent sought the expertise of LeBlanc, based on previous work performed for the firm.
“Since Dr. LeBlanc spearheaded the effort to include performance testing of products like ours for the Massachusetts Environmentally Preferable Products (EPP) Procurement Program, it made perfect sense that she would be able to help us on a global scale,” said Michael Rochon, Cogent principal and the product’s patent owner.
LeBlanc assessed the ingredients of the Ecogent General PurposeCleaner for compliance with the European Commission’s 2001 published ecological criteria for all-purpose cleaners, before the company applied to Europe for the label. The Eco-label award gives official recognition that the product meets a high level of biodegradability and minimizes its impact on aquatic life – and, of course, cleans well. Cogent’s cleaning product already carries the U. S. Green Seal and the Canadian Environmental Choice award.
Part of TURI’s mission is to test and find alternatives to toxic chemicals on behalf of Massachusetts companies. The Institute also provides technical assistance in helping companies like Cogent in efforts to access new markets for toxic-free products.
“We congratulate Cogent on being the first North American company to obtain the label” said Charles Cox, a representative of the European awarding body. “We hope it will encourage many other North American companies to apply.”
The European Eco-label scheme covers a diverse range of 21 product groups, including textiles, paints and washing machines, and is expanding into services such as tourist accommodation. Nearly 200 licenses have been issued to date.
For more information about: the UMass Lowell Toxics Use Reduction Institute, visit or call Carole LeBlanc at 978-934-3249; Cogent Environmental Solutions, visit or European Union’s Eco-label, visit
Eco-label Goals, Process and the Role of
the Toxics Use Reduction Institute at UMass Lowell
Designated Test Centre
As the designated Test Centre for Cogent Environmental Solutions, the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts Lowell was responsible for presenting the technical data of the product, Ecogent General PurposeCleaner (exclusively manufactured by Chemspec of Baltimore, Maryland, USA), in light of the ecological criteria set forth in the Official Journal of the European Communities by Commission. The criteria were signed in Brussels in 2001 by European Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom, who was a visitor to UMass Lowell in April. Test Centers must demonstrate their competencies in test methods and standards such as ISO (International Organization for Standardization).
Why, ‘The Flower’
The Flower, a symbol of the European Eco-label, is a voluntary scheme designed to (1) encourage businesses to market products and services that are kinder to the environment and (2) help European consumers – both public and private purchasers – to easily identify them. Besides the 25 member states of the European Union, the Flower label can be found on products in Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. Consequently, a successful applicant is allowed to use the official Flower logo on an approved product in a market of more than 375 million consumers.
The European Eco-label is part of a broader strategic goal of promoting sustainable consumption and production as well as a wider approach on Integrated Product Policy (IPP). It is the mission of the European Union Eco-labelling Board (EUEB) for the Flower label “to be recognized as Europe’s premier award for products and services which are a genuinely better choice for the environment” and “to help manufacturers, retailers and service providers to get recognition for good standards, and purchasers to make reliable choices.” It is not meant as a barrier to trade.
In addition to meeting a number of environmental and quality requirements while assessing products’ impact ‘from cradle to grave’, applicants must also sign a contract and pay a fee for the use of the Flower with a Competent Body. Each member state of the EU has a designated Competent Body which is responsible for the application process.
For More Information
October 18 – 24, 2004 has been designated European Flower Week. Children and consumers in seven countries will get to know The Flower through exhibitions, competitions, advertising and activities in schools and shops. These countries include Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Austria and Italy. The campaign’s funding sources include the EU Commission’s environmental programme, LIFE (a financial instrument of the European Union for the environment and nature), the Danish Environmental Protection Agency and partners in participating countries (
For technical assistance in North America, contact Dr. LeBlanc, Toxics Use Reduction Institute Laboratory Director, 978-934-3249 or . The Surface Solutions Laboratory ( is not affiliated with The Flower Eco-label.
More Synergies: Green Chemistry and Sustainability
Carole LeBlanc became the first American woman to complete Erasmus University’s (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) Ph.D. program in Sustainable Development and Management, known as Cleaner Production, Cleaner Products, Industrial Ecology and Sustainability in 2001. Her dissertation focused on the search for safer and greener solvents.
In 2004, John Warner, co-author of Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice (Oxford University Press, New York 1998) and a founding father of this discipline, became the latest faculty member of the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s School of Health and Environment.