How Green Is My Label

Move over, Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. The race is on to produce a stamp that will alert consumers to products that meet the highest standards of environmental safety. The Green Seal, introduced last week, should start appearing early next year on such products as toilet paper, light bulbs, laundry cleaners and facial tissues that meet the criteria established by a panel of scientists. "Our objective is to help American consumers vote with their pocketbooks on environmental issues," says former Earth Day chairman Denis Hayes, who is chief executive of the nonprofit, Washington-based Green Seal project.

Meanwhile, Green Cross, a nonprofit subsidiary of Scientific Certification Systems of Oakland is working with four national supermarket chains and manufacturers to certify products that meet high standards for recyclability. The cross will appear for the first time in July. Manufacturers seeking the Green Seal or the Green Cross will have to pay fees to cover the cost of analyzing their products, and Green Seal will levy an annual licensing fee. Can the two ecologos happily coexist in a green world? There may not be room for both, say experts. Ultimately the fittest will survive.