Japan Creates Carbon Footprint Labels for Products

Now, residents of Japan may be able to calculate the carbon footprint of almost everything they buy, from drinks to snacks to bars of soap, thanks to a new government plan.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on August 21 2008

You may already be counting the carbs in the bagel you ate for breakfast this morning - but how about the carbs in your laundry detergent?

Don’t worry, you haven’t missed the bandwagon for the super-trendy Soap Suds Diet. The carbs we’re talking about aren’t the dreaded carbohydrates - they’re the even more important carbon footprints we leave on the earth with every purchase we buy.

Now, residents of Japan may be able to calculate the carbon footprint of almost everything they buy, from drinks to snacks to bars of soap, thanks to a new government plan. Each item will be labeled with its estimated carbon footprint number, based on the amount of emissions used in creating and delivering the item.

“We hope that displaying carbon footprints will raise awareness among consumers as well as companies of their emissions and motivate them to emit less C02,” Japanese trade official Shintaro Ishihara told AFP.

The new plan is set to launch in April 2009, though officials aren’t yet sure exactly how many companies will display their products’ carbon footprints on the packaging. So now, instead of feeling guilty about going overboard on calories, you can focus on gorging on green products instead.

Filed under: Business, Green,

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