Ecolabeling and certification is the practice of assessing the environmental impacts of the harvest, manufacture, use, and discard of a product using defined environmental criteria. If an external organization can guarantee that the product has met the criteria, the manufacturer is able to package and market the product with the ecolabel to indicate the product's environmental credentials. Certification is the process of verifying that the product meets the criteria.

Keywords
environmental standards, life cycle assessment, product differentiation, certification, external audit, validation, ecolabels, product manufacture, materials, product discard, sustainability standards, environmental impact, industrial ecosystems, material goods, products

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