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Fair
Trade ... Fair Ethics.
This is the world's most concise and confusion-free Ethical Labelling
System.
Finally, a bridge of honesty and trust can be built between manufacturer
and consumer ... without confusion.
The
"NOVA" Key active label provides a simple and effective
answer,
not just for vegetarians but for everyone:
The "NOVA"
Key label for all foods and products is a clear and comprehensive
system, which ethically covers all aspects of a product's
content and origin.
"N"
= Whether or not the product contains natural
or genetically modified ingredients
"O"
= Whether or not the product is free of chemical pesticides
and fertilizers
"V"
= Whether or not the product is free of animal
derivatives
"A"
= Whether or not the product or any of its additives
and extra ingredients has been tested on animals.
All
these letters combined create a label called the 
Key
The "or not"
addition is the main appeal for this labelling concept. Simply by
marking any of the letters of N.O.V.A with a
cross tells
the consumer if the product suits their ethical requirements. No
more guessing, and no more confusion. This is why the NOVA Key is
called an "active" label.
Here's
an example
(complete with optional allergy information)
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Allergy
Information: May contain nuts. Gluten Free. Wheat
Free. Contains E213 (Calcium benzoate) which may cause allergic
reaction
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To "V"
or not to "V" ... that is the confusion
But
with the NOVA Key the red cross x
eliminates the guess work.
A
food product labelled "Suitable For Vegetarians" somewhere on the
package has become a familiar sight for shoppers in the United Kingdom.
But the trend varies widely around the world, with the UK displaying
the largest choice of meat and fish-free foods labelled with the
"V" sign. But it
still causes confusion.
Why?
For example, between a major brand of breakfast cereal and an identical
supermarket own brand cereal, one of these products may have a "V"
label printed on the box, whilst the other doesn't. The product
without the "V" label might be "identical" to the one
with a "V", but the manufacturers simply haven't labelled
it, or else it might well contain animal based additives. It's impossible
to tell unless all food manufacturers and food outlets are legally
obliged to add a "V" label ... and CROSS it or not CROSS it. This
is what the active "V" in the NOVA Key is designed to
do ... stop the confusion. In fact, all the letters in the NOVA
Key are active and can be crossed or not, depending on its ingredients
or source. All the ethically-based information a consumer needs
to know on one compact, easy to recognize label.
If
you are a small manufacturer, store, restaurant or e-tailer who
has the initiative to show that you care about your customer's ethical
preferences and making your product easily understood, then you
can be one of the first to use the NOVA Key right now on your products
by visiting the NOVA
Key Licensing site .
Consumers
can also vote
and comment on the Key to help make
it a standard and legal requirement in your country.
But
whether you are a consumer or a manufacturer or restaurateur, read
on to see how the NOVA Key benefits everybody.
Consumers
are clearly calling out for a single label that contains the answers
to the main ethical questions you ask before buying a product; a
label that indicates, either way, what the product contains or doesn't
contain, making things 100% clear. This is exactly what the NOVA
Key does.
The NOVA Key will cover not just food, but cosmetics and clothing
products that will indicate when a product is not
suitable for vegetarians etc.
What about vegans? ...
find
out at the useful Q and A's
There aren't laws in any country stating that all foods suitable
for veggies have to show a "V" label etc. - just as there
aren't laws stating that non-vegetarian foods have to display an
appropriate label.
As mentioned,
some manufacturers and supermarkets have have addressed half the
problem and begun to display "suitable for vegetarians"
labelling on their products - some reasonably clear while others
are more obscure, since there is no easily recognized universal
format. Other manufacturers (and restaurants) ignore the necessity
of ethical labelling altogether ... Or in some cases show no consistency
with their "V" signs, only putting the label on the product
or menu if they remember to.
Worst of all - and whether intentional or not - there are companies,
and more commonly restaurants, who occasionally - print "V" labels
on products, which actually contain parts of dead animals.
With so many mixed up variables displayed on store shelves or restaurant
menus, how can any ethically minded person tell what products ARE
or ARE NOT vegetarian, organic, natural or tested on animals?
The "NOVA" Key solves all these problems in one go - simply
by the use of a cross on the relevant letter.
Have a Question?
Here are lots of useful Q and A's
It's important to remember that the
NOVA Key is a unique validation / clarification system that consolidates
a fairer relationship between manufacturer and consumer.
If and when adopted by your country's government, the NOVA Key would
be a legal requirement on all products. But even before that, while
the NOVA Key itself remains an optional system, its concept means
that thousands more products can potentially become a clearer choice
for the consumer, whether veggie, organic, natural, animal tested
or not. This is because the NOVA Key label stops any confusion by
its clever design.
Manufacturers using the NOVA Key aren't judging ethics, they are
simply informing you the customer about the content of their product.
They have no reason to be dishonest. If they do mark their Key incorrectly,
they will be (briefly) disqualified, and the customer will be made
aware of this through the online listing. (
See Q and A's) So it's
in the interest of the manufacturer to be honest, and that means
customers will feel more trusting of manufacturers that use the
Key ... whatever their ethical choices might be. It's a win-win
situation. Obviously, it will be hoped that manufacturers will find
the ethical guidance of the NOVA Key an inspiration, to fine-tune
their products to become more environmentally and animal friendly,
and perhaps a red cross would be removed from the Key on their products
in the future.
Remember, the red crosses applied
(or not) on each letter which spells "NOVA" is the important
clarifying aspect of NOVA's impending success as a universal key.
You are invited to vote
and comment on The NOVA Key - to encourage all manufacturers, governments
and countries to make this a compulsory global labelling system
on all products.
The NOVA Key invites other vegetarian, animal and environmental
groups to join us and to help promote this important project.
This NOVA Key Campaign site also includes views and opinion from
key figures in animal welfare and manufacturing.
Vote
here
or please read on for more details.
Shopping
Ethics
Underneath the façade
of trendy product presentation, ethical labelling, in its current
non-legislative form, is wide open to double standards. This includes
confusion for the consumer between almost identical products, where
one - for example - may be vegetarian and the other not - and in
some cases false claims as to its suitability for vegetarians. The
term "organic" is often loosely applied on products since
it's become a money-spinner, and some so-called organic products
may contain additives that certainly aren't organically derived.
It's not only food we are focussing on here ... During the current
resurgence of fur in fashion, traders are deceiving consumers by
labelling fur clothing and items with mythical names to make them
sound less like real animals, but which are in fact made from cat
and dog fur. Cosmetics and animal testing is another minefield of
confusion.
The application of the NOVA Key will tell consumers the ethical
nature of clothing and cosmetic products.
Finally, restaurants, where the application of a "slimline"
version of the NOVA Key next to all items will inform the customer
straight away for ethical suitability.
The NOVA Key active labelling system that covers
all these and other variables would finally clear the confusion
that many millions of people with ethical preferences have to contend
with every time they go shopping or go out to eat. As one NOVA Key
voter says, "NOVA labelling would be beneficial for
sales as well as for discerning consumers". This is simply
because a standard of trust can be established between consumer
and manufacturer, particularly due to the open-source
method in which the NOVA Key will work. Find
out why at Q and A's
Whether for ethical reasons or personal well-being, a clear labelling
key on all products that you either eat, put on your skin or wear
should become a universal standard.
At present it's impossible to shop or eat in a restaurant with a
clear conscience, as veggies are buying non-labelled foods with
the high risk that it contains an animal product - including wines
and beers, which don't even carry an ingredients listing (and many
of which are not suitable for vegetarians). Because of the lack
of compulsory labelling, consumers in general are not given a clear
indication as to whether products, like cosmetics, soaps, shampoos
and medicines are or are not tested on animals.
For examples on products see the Nova Key Examples Pages
Have a Question?
Here are lots of useful Q and A's
SUPER "N-O-V-A"
... to recap
"N"
to show that
the product is natural - either that it has not been genetically
modified or that it contains no artificial / chemical additives.
"O"
to show that the product is 100% organic and produced with no chemical
pesticides or fertilizers.
"V"
for vegetarian
(and vegan) suitability on all products including clothes.
"A" to
show that the product has not been tested on animals.
Any
of the NOVA
letters displayed with red crosses
through them means the exact opposite.
It's that simple. By displaying either
alternative, consumers will know instantly whether the product suits
their requirements. No more guessing, and no more confusion.
Have a Question?
Here are lots of useful Q and A's
Action
for ALL
All in all, a non-legislated
ethical labelling system, which presently exists can be exploited
or ignored by stores, eating establishments and manufactures. It
causes more uncertainty and anger amongst an increasing number of
ethically conscious shoppers who are not taken in by the trends
and hype of random veggie / organic / animal friendly labelling.
There is even the increasing number of general consumers, whose
vague aim may be to avoid or regulate their use of unethical products.
But without clear labelling, they still end up using them, unaware
that they are eating parts of dead animals, rubbing them into their
bodies or indirectly causing severe pain to animals used for testing
the products.
More
about Investigation and Case Studies
This campaign stage of
the NOVA Key invites you to sign our electronic petition and vote
for a compulsory universal labelling system. We need votes not just
from vegetarians but from anyone with a moral conscience - and we
need millions of them!
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