Understanding eco-logos

There are other certification logos and systems like this that are helpful. Eco-logo, while helpful, concentrates more on the larger environment and not so much on the indoor environment and occupant health. For purposes of deciding specifically on indoor environment, I would go to: Clean Air Technologies, Envirodesic, a Canadian one, and Greenguard. These are all third-party and well regarded.

It's important to note that (as indicated by the description) this logo indicates the most environmental choice relative to others in a category, but it doesn't necessarily mean the product is particularly environmentally friendly. For example, when shopping for paint recently I came across this logo on one of the plain white options available in a big box store. (It was the only environmental option they had.) When I inquired about whether the paint would remain free of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) when tint was added, I learned that it would not so I decided to keep looking. I discovered a European line of paint called Mythic that is rated zero VOC (less than 5 parts per million) and comes in thousands of colours, available through a local ecostore, and went with that instead. So, when making purchase decisions using the EcoLogo, it's a good idea to dig a little deeper about the environmental criteria within that particular category rather than take it at face value.