Consumers are being confused and misled by the hodge-podge(大杂烩) of environmental claims made by household products, according to a “green labeling” study published by Consumers International Friday.
Among the report’s more unacceptalbe findings – a German fertilizer described itself as “earthworm friendly”; a brand of flour said it was “non-polluting” and a British toilet paper claimed to be “environmentally friendlier”.
The study was written and researched by Britain’s National Consumer Council (NCC) for lobby group Consumers International. It was funded by the German and Dutch governments and the European Commission.
“While many good and useful claims are being made, it is clear that there is a long way to go in ensuring shoppers are adequately informed about the environmental impacts they buy,” said Consumers International director, Anna Fielder.
The 10-country study surveyed product packaging in Britain, Western Europe, Scandinavia and the United States. It found that products sold in Germany and the United Kingdom made the most environmental claims on average.
The report focused on claims made by specific products, such as detergent (洗涤剂), insect sprays and some garden products. It did not test claims, but pared them to labeling guidelines set by the International Standards Organization (ISO) in September, 1999. Researchers documented claims of environmental friendliness made by about 2,000 products and found many too vague or too misleading to meet ISO standards.
“Many products had specially designed labels to make them seem environmentally friendly, but in fact many of these symbols mean nothing,” said report researcher Philip Page.
“Laundry detergents made the most number of claims with 158. Household cleaners were second with 145 separate claims, while paints were third on our list with 73. The high numbers show how confusing it must be for consumers to sort the true from the misleading,” he said.
The ISO labeling standards ban vague or misleading claims on product packaging, because terms such as “environmentally friendly” and “non-polluting” cannot be verified. “What we are now pushing for is to have multinational corporations meet the standards set by the ISO,” said Page.
【小题1】According to the passage, the NCC found it unacceptable that .A．all the products surveyed claim to meet ISO standardsB．the claims made by products are often unclear and deceivingC．consumers would believe many of the manufacturers’ claimsD．few products actually prove to be environment friendly【小题2】As indicated in this passage, with so many good claims, the consumers .A．are being more cautious about the products they are going to buyB．are still not willing to pay more for products with green labelingC．are being more aware of the effects different products have on the environmentD．still do not know the exact impact of different products on the environment【小题3】It can be inferred from the passage that the lobby group Consumer International wants to .A．make product labeling satisfy ISO requirementsB．see all household products meet environmental standardsC．warn consumers of the danger of so-called green productsD．verify the effects of non-polluting productsB
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(答案→)B
解析：根据周五国际消费者所发表的一个绿色标签的研究表明，消费者正在被家用产品所做的五花八门的环保声明所混淆和误导。 对10个国家的研究调查了英国、西欧、斯堪地纳维亚和美国。发现德国和英国所销售的产品做的环保声明平均最多。主要是洗涤剂、杀虫剂和一些农产品。
【小题1】细节理解题。第六段的大意是：他们（the NCC）把这些标签上的导语和1999年9月的ISO 对比，2000多项产品所做的环保声明许多都是太含混不清、太有误导性，根本达不到ISO的标准。所以他们认为产品的标注经常是不清楚的，具有欺骗性。故选B。
【小题2】推理判断题。第七段说：许多产品专门设计了标签使他们似乎很环保，但是事实上，这些标准毫无意义。以及The high numbers show how confusing it must be for consumers to sort the true from the misleading,（高的数字表明对消费者而言，把事实和误导分清楚一定很难做到。）故选D。
【小题3】推理判断题。 全文的最后一句话意思是：我们现在推动的是使多国公司达到ISO制定的质量认证标准。由此判断：消费者国际游说团想使产品标签满足ISO 的标准要求。故选A。