e-Label stands for "Electronic Label". The goal is to promote transparency throughout the supply chain.

Information is provided by a network of shoppers, professionals and consumer organisations that share knowledge about consumer products, particularly food. Start with an example product : Canned Tuna from John West. e-Label provides this independant (3rd Party) information via several websites and mobile apps (still in Beta).


This 90 second video shows how some consumers are seeing past the "greenwash" and the "spin" to exercise their power by making truly informed purchases.

To find out more about the story behind this video, click here.
October 2015 Update

 As of October 2015, e-Label had catalogued nearly 8000 consumer products. Content relating to these products is delivered to consumers via the e-Label app (iPhone / Android).
PLEASE NOTE : Although the majority of products investigated are currently Woolworths brands, e-Label has no financial relationship with Woolworths whatsoever.

In 2013, the e-Label team decided that the South African public would need a place where they could experiment with the e-Label app; in other words, somewhere where they would be able to scan (nearly) any product in a given store.

e-Label aims to investigate all consumer products in South Africa and Woolworths is simply the starting point.

The content is organised under consumer interest categories such as: Nutrition, Biodiversity, Packaging, Carbon Footprint and others. e-Label has amassed over four thousand five hundred “e-Label posts” – roughly equivalent to a short blog post of 500 characters on average.

These posts have been submitted by a selection of experts, researchers and conservationists from a wide range of recognised organisations. It is important to note that over 1000 of these posts are referenced by source documents such as those published by peer-reviewed journals, actual laboratory results and other documents from respected and reliable sources.

ELABEL APP		 The e-Label Live Reporting Page is an overview of the of content, products, brands, authors and scans.

Snapshot
How the e-Label app works :
#1. You go to the shops for your weekly shopping. So many products, so many choices. You may wonder if it really possible to an informed choice? For example, you want to buy free-range, but is there really more to those words than merely a marketing message? #2. You’re standing in the aisles looking at lines and lines of the same product. All the labels are colourful and attractive. Yet this doesn’t satisfy you. You can’t understand the ingredients, you feel dazzled by the clever marketing messages. You want to know more.
#3. Luckily for you it is 2012 and technology is enabling a revolution in consumer choice. You grab your mobile phone and download the e-Label app and sign up, free of charge. #4. Open the e-Label app and scan any regular old barcode. The e-Label app turns your phone into a barcode scanner. This will access the e-Label product database online.
#5. Once on the e-Label you can access product specific information according to sustainability topics such as water footprint, animal treatment, carbon footprint, social justice and others. You can make your own comments, leave questions for the producers, respond to other consumers, upload media, watch videos or look at photos. #6. Then, once you've done your research and you're satisfied, you can make your purchase in a manner which suits your wallets and your morals. Don't want to support sweatshops? Then don't purchase their produce. Want to lower your carbon footprint? Then choose your products accordingly.