Last week we launched Ecolabel Index Pro, a unique online service that gives subscribers complete access to our database, including the profiles of over 370 ecolabels.

We launched this service so that we can to continue to invest in the data quality and features that make this site useful to people who use ecolabels as part of their profession.

By the end of this year, we expect to maintain profiles for more than 400 ecolabels. Each of these profiles contains nearly 70 individual points of information, for a total of 28,000 data-points.

In addition, we expect to continue to roll out new features for the site, especially the ability for ecolabels to claim their profiles and work with us directly to keep them updated.

We also continue to make minor improvements throughout the site. This includes things like speed, reliability, extensibility, and information display.

All of these improvements, as well as simply ongoing maintenance, carry a cost in terms of both time and capital. As Ecolabelling.org, this site was run on a purely voluntary basis for nearly three years (since December 2007). During that time, we explored many ways of balancing the need to keep the site open, while at the same time maintaining quality. In the end, we struck the balance that is Ecolabel Index Pro.

We hope that you will agree we have hit the mark. If you use this site regularly, we encourage you to sign-up and support our effort to make understanding and using ecolabels easier. For a small monthly contribution, you will help ensure that this site, and the world of green purchasing, continues to grow.

In the coming weeks we will be posting guided tours and explanations of the many features existing and planned for Ecolabel Index Pro. We hope you will be as enthusiastic as we are about its potential for facilitating credible green commerce.