“Tesco to put carbon scores on goods” says The Torygraph. Sounds like a good idea in principle. Do go on …The labels – which will be put on 30 products, including tomatoes, potatoes, orange juice, light bulbs and washing detergent – will detail how many grams of CO2 were created in their production, packaging, distribution and disposal. Well, that still sounds good. Whats the downside?
However, the scheme has come under fire from rival retailers, consumer groups and academics, who say shoppers – already bombarded by complex information on packaging – will be further confused. Hmmm. Sounds like typical whinging. Paul Monaghan, the head of ethics at the Co-operative group, said: “It is unfair to put the burden on to the consumer. “It should be up to retailers to use the information to lower their emissions.” Sounds barking. If people will avoid higher-carbon stuff, then good. They need the information to do so, though. Hopefully the info will be reliable, though I’m not sure how that will be established. Hopefully also Waitrose will start doing this.
