What’s in a label? Certification schemes, collective identities and post-colonial nation building in Greenland

In this article, we are interested in exploring the role of industrial certification schemes in identity formation and positioning within a broader context of Greenlandic independence. As a heuristic tool to explore ethno-political visions and interferences that transpire from the process of national independence, we draw on three sustainability labels used within the Greenlandic fisheries, hunting and tourism sectors. Departing from their particular framings of sustainability, we are interested in exploring whether and in what ways voluntary, marked-based certification schemes interfere in different and perhaps unexpected ways with the construction of collective identities. We further discuss how these contain, speak to, support or contest certain ethno-national categories with relevance to Greenlandic nation building. In conclusion, we argue that certification regimes in Greenland draw on old as well as emerging categories of collective identity, contributing to the continuous re-positioning of Greenland’s key economic sectors in post-colonial nation building.