THE IMPACT OF GREEN LABELLING TO LIFE CYCLE THINKING Panagiotis Kyratsis 1* , Nikolaos Efkolidis 1 , Athanasios Manavis 1 and Nikolaos Asimopoulos 2 1 Technological Educational Institution of Western Macedonia E-mail: pkyratsis@teikoz.gr Dept. of Mechanical & Industrial Design Engineering, Kila Kozani GR50100, Greece 2 Technological Educational Institution of Western Macedonia Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Kila Kozani GR50100, Greece Abstract: A variety of labels are used in industry in order to inform the consumers about the product itself and comply with certain regulation demands. In addition, several graphic designs are used for creating a marketing advantage and increase the likelihood of a product/package purchase. Designers have the opportunity to influence attitudes and aspirations, aiming to achieve consumer awareness and behaviour in line with life cycle thinking. The proposed Green Label is designed in a way that results in an effective and understandable way of communicating environmental impact information to the customer in a simple and pictorial way. Therefore, it forms the basis for a marketing advantage policy making and innovation. Keywords: ecodesign, life cycle thinking, green label. 1. INTRODUCTION Sustainability has three dimensions: the economic, the social and the environmental. The term “the triple bottom line” was made to explain the importance of achieving sustainability based on its three dimensions. It implies that industry has to expand the traditional economic focus to include environmental and social dimensions, in order to create a more sustainable business (Neumayer, 2011). Life cycle thinking, is essential to sustainable development. It is about going beyond the traditional focus on production and manufacturing processes so as to include the environmental, social, and economic impact of a product over its entire life cycle. Extended 5(1) 2014 I J P D