We’ve been asking labels for permission to post their logos to our site. You’ll see these popping up all over the site over the next few weeks as we add them.

It got us thinking about how we organise the labels. Until now we’ve listed each country where PEFC (Pan-European Forest Council) exists as a separate label. We did this partly because PEFC isn’t always called PEFC. In Australia for example, it’s called “The Australian Forestry Standard Limited” here’s a list of all the PEFC’s that aren’t called PEFC.Today we decided the best way to deal with this is to have one PEFC entry and list all the countries that PEFC is present in.

Our definition of “Ecolabel” will now be dependent on the logo. If the label has a different logo, we’ll provide a different listing. The reason we’re doing this is that we figure if we saw a different logo in the store, we would assume it’s a different standard, and it’s important for us to be consumer facing.

Hope that makes sense!

(a guest post from Olga Orda)

Ecolabels are everywhere from Wal-Mart’s “seafood aisle” to my local grocery store. But, at the end of day, what do these labels really mean? Who’s behind them? And, most importantly, can I rely on them to make my certified no-rainforests-were-destroyed-in-the-making-of-this-latte latte? Ecolabelling.org – your source on the background of over 285 ecolabels around the world – makes it easier to answer these questions and more by sharing a global database of who’s deciding what’s green.

Big Room Inc. launched ecolabelling.org for as a resource for consumers, environmental professionals and procurers to learn the source of each ecolabel and what it actually means.

That means: one less consumer paralysed in indecision under the florescent lights of the natural foods aisle and one more green procurer who can sift through nearly 100 food ecolabels with the click of a mouse.

So far, ecolabelling.org has tracked down over 285 ecolabels or green certification systems that exist worldwide and estimate that close to 400,000 companies and nearly 500,000 products have gained a green label or valid certification. The database is a platform that will grow, so they look forward to hearing from eco-labels and certification schemes worldwide. Are they missing your favourite ecolabel? Let them know!

This week we launched the latest piece of our outreach to the ecolabelling community — the Global Ecolabel Survey 2008.

If your label is listed in ecolabelling.org, but you didn’t receive a survey (or at least it didn’t come to you), get in touch at survey at ecolabelling.org.

If your favourite ecolabel isn’t listed on the site at all yet, then you can send us the basics from the Add ecolabel page. Once it’s in the system, we’ll send out the more extensive survey to you.

…and last but certainly not least — if you received the survey — please complete it. You can help us create a useful resource, and we can help you tell the story of what you do and how you do it.  Thanks.