As we face increasing pressure on our environment and even the most entrenched interests have to admit that global climate change needs to be addressed, the new buzz is all about being products or companies being “green.” But what does this really mean? And how can you sort out the hype from the facts?In “It’s Easy Being Green,” author Crissy Trask, notes that “green” is a generic term to describe something that has a benign or moderate effect on the environment. “Thus,” she writes, “it follows that a green product is one that causes less harm to the environment than other similar products.”
It's important to pay attention to the entire life cycle of any given product - from the harvesting, assembling, or manufacture of its components, to the processing itself, to the extremely important stage of final disposal.
So, if you want to know if a product or manufacturer is really green, here are a few questions to ask:
• Is the product produced locally (to minimize energy used for
transport?)
• Was the product produced using organic methods? Is it in season?
• Does it utilize recycled or reclaimed materials?
• Is it packaged minimally, or in recycled-content packaging? Better
yet, biodegradable packaging?
• Does it come from readily renewable resources?
• If it was made from natural resources, was extraction done
responsibly without impacting wildlife habitat, water quality and resource
sustainability?
• Does the manufacturing plant use energy-saving systems and
procedures for production?
• Is it of good design and quality, made to last a long time?
• Can it be recycled or remanufactured at the end of its life?
Remember --
Every little bit makes a world of difference.
