“Sustainable choice” was launched with a lot of advertising by Systembolaget last year, but according to information in DN (a Swedish daily paper), it is already time to scrap it.
Sustainable choice has been widely criticized, both because of the excessively simplified (even simplistic) model Systembolaget uses for the sustainability label and because the label is only available for Systembolaget’s own range. The wine importers’ assortment, the so-called “on-order range” (“bestallningssortimentet”, which is distributed via Systembolaget) has been excluded from the labelling, which has been seen by some as an anti-competitive or protectionist effect to the disadvantage of the wines that are not in Systembolagets own range (i.e. to the disadvantage of the ambitious importers who offers the on-order range).
With all the advertising that Systembolaget is doing for its new label, demand will be strongly steered towards “sustainable choice” (just like what happened to “organic” when that shelf-labelling was introduced in the monopoly shops) and the on-order range will therefore be greatly disadvantaged, some believe.
“Sustainable choice” is also a private and unique Swedish label, created by Systembolaget, unlike “organic”, which is an EU label.
It has also been criticized for the sometimes dubious and not always logical requirements made to obtain it. For example, the environmental impact of transport is not taken into account.
Another effect of the new labelling that has been brought forward in the debate is that it further drives consumption towards the low-price segment and towards industrially produced wines.
So, from 1 June, “sustainable choice” will disappear. But it will be replaced by the text “our most sustainable drinks”, and maintaining the same criteria, says press secretary Marie Elfstrand to DN.
This seems to be a purely cosmetic change, window-dressing, without addressing any of the weaknesses in the labelling. (That it is now also available for the “on-order” range is, of course, good.)
A missed opportunity to do something better instead?
Read more: DN
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Read: Read more about sustainability and wine in BKWine’s book “The wine for the future”, which will be published in October.
