Background Eco-labelling is a means of informing consumers about which products are environmentally friendly. Criteria or requirements that must be fulfilled to obtain the eco-label have a clear and concrete objective: to limit the levels of toxic residues and of volatile organic compound emissions, as well as the production of more durable products. The labelling system seeks to encourage consumers to buy with the environment in mind and to thereby stimulate an economic incentive and benefit for environmentally friendly production. It aims to harness the power of market forces in favour of environmental protection without the need for difficult legislation to ban certain materials or processes. Despite progress of the eco-label in certain sectors of production, the shoe industry remained largely untouched. In 2002, two-and-a-half years after publication of the ecological criteria to be met to receive an eco-label by the European Union, only three Italian footwear companies had obtained this EU distinction. Objectives The main objective of the “Ecofoot” project was to make the European ecological label known to the 13,000 footwear manufacturers in the EU, particularly SMEs and traders. The project set out to disseminate information on the eco-label at a series of major footwear trade fairs. This was to be supported by information sessions and events such as courses, workshops, congresses, meetings and visits to footwear manufacturers. Press releases would target a wide industry audience through specialised journals, newsletters and web sites with direct links to the project web site. This dissemination strategy aimed to reach a significant number of footwear manufacturers and set out to them the environmental and commercial benefits to be gained from having the eco-label. In this way, it aimed to encourage manufacturers and material suppliers to think about the ecological criteria for the materials and processes used in the production of footwear. In line with the LIFE-Environment programme thematic area “Integrated policy on products: Eco-labelling”, the ultimate aim of this strategy was to improve the relationship between the footwear industry and the environment. The project also targeted increased competitivity for the EU footwear industry - with its added environmental value – as a way of increasing employment in the sector. Results The project succeeded in raising widespread awareness amongst European footwear companies of the existence of the eco-label and encouraged applications for it. A questionnaire at the end of the project found that most of the 650 European footwear companies asked had heard of the European eco-label and most had received information from the promotional activities carried out under the project. The project succeeded in making companies recognise that the eco-label would help reduce the environmental impact of the industry, enhance a company’s image, serve as a powerful promotion tool, amount to an advantage over competitors and enhance customer loyalty. Nine companies had obtained the label by the end of the project, coming from Italy, but also Denmark, France and Spain. Many further companies requested information about obtaining the eco-label. The environment benefits of the project will be indirect, but should be significant. Extended use of the eco-label will promote the use of materials and processes that are more respectful of the environment and less harmful to human health. This will apply to all stages of the shoe life cycle from the extraction of the raw materials to the disposal of the worn-out shoe. Associated industries like tanning will also be affected and the environmental progress will go beyond the scope of existing legislation since, being voluntary, the eco-label conditions are more restrictive. The project web site continues to receive more than 300,000 visits per year and is the main reference point for the eco-label in the footwear sector. It is an excellent tool for manufacturers and traders of the footwear sector and also a way to disseminate EU regulations on eco-labelling. Ecofoot was given an award as the Best European Project of the Valencia Region (Spain) in the environmental category. It is a project that demonstrates how dissemination and awareness raising projects can support the European eco-label, but also how much more needs to be done. This is also true for a whole host of other industries, which could improve their environmental record by increasing awareness and impact of the eco-label, particularly amongst consumers who can generate market change.