Water Label to appear in stores over next 12 months

DIY giants and merchants have joined forces to display the Water Label on bathroom products in-store, which will be “market-changing” and “significantly change purchasing behaviour”.

B&Q, Chandlers Building Supplies, Home Retail Group, St Gobain distribution, Travis Perkins and Wolseley have signed a commitment which will see the Water Label appear in stores over the next 12 months.

The commitment of the group, which took 18 months to come to fruition, is to achieve 100% labelling of bathroom products distributed through their channels. Speaking at its launch, head of sustainability at Wolseley and chair of the Water Using Products Working Group, Tim Pollard further explained all the companies had agreed: “To clearly display the label in all manner of media, to help make the [purchasing] decision in favour of water efficient products, to actively inform consumers and colleagues of benefits.”He cited it was “market changing” and continued “we believe it will significantly alter purchasing behaviour.”

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Sustainable development manager within Travis Perkins, Eimear Montague said not joining the commitment could see a potential loss of business. She commented: “I see us not making money if we don’t adopt the label.” She explained an increase in consumer education into reducing water usage and understanding the resulting reduction on energy bills will drive interest in water-efficient products. Montague added: “If we’re not targeting that, then ultimately it will [have] a detrimental impact on our sales.”

The Energy Saving Trust has just published its review into domestic water use, which shows 60% of water is used in the bathroom, with showers the biggest consumer of water in the home (25%) followed by WCs (22%).

It reports the average household uses 349 litres of water each day, with hot water contributing £228 to the annual average combined energy bill.
There are over 2,000 products which carry a Water Label from manufacturers which include AKW, Bristan, Crosswater, Croydex, Ideal Standard International, Intatec, Methven and Roman.