Only two Romanian firms secure ecolabel

Pitesti-based textile producer Argesana and mattress producer Bioflex in Sibiu are the only companies on the local market whose products secured an ecolabel, a certification that can help gain access onto foreign markets. Tourist pensions in Maramures and Bucovina however, stand good chances of increasing the number of ecolabels to match at least Ireland’s, a country that has eleven products with ecologic labels, all of them in the tourism industry. In the European Union there are currently 376 companies that distribute their products with an ecolabel, which certifies a strict compliance with environmental standards. This label guarantees that no environmentally harmful substances are used or generated in the manufacturing process of a particular product. Ecolabelling is not a compulsory measure, either for selling products locally or for exporting them, but it can be a significant advantage in the long term in securing contracts abroad, due to its exclusivity. “There were two or three instances when foreign clients made a point of asking for this label, but usually they don’t even mention it,” Ionel Stefu, general manager of Argesana, told ZF. Argesana’s turnover stood at 4 million euros in 2005, according to figures on the site for the Ministry of Finance.