It seems that more and more, products are claiming to be "green," but what does that really mean? A truly "green" product would be durable, repairable, energy efficient, made with recycled materials and eventually recyclable. It wouldn't create unnecessary waste, either with too much packaging or by a short useful life. The manufacture, use, disposal, and packaging would have minimal impact on the environment. If you really want to know how "green" a product is, read the label; but do we really know what "environmentally safe," recyclable" or "non-toxic" mean?The U.S. FTC & EPA have given manufacturers guidelines for marketing their green products which can help you make choices that are friendly to the environment. Firts, you need to determine whether the claims refer to the product, the packaging, or both. If a label says "recycled," check to see how much of the product is recycled, which should be given as a percentage.
For a product to claim to be "non-toxic," the manufacturer must have reason to believe that no significant risk to the environment or people exists. Packaging claiming that the product is "earth friendly" or "eco-safe" doesn't really tell the entire story. All products and packaging have some environmental impact. These slogans don't give the consumer specific information needed to compare products. It's easy to look at two products and see which one contains more recycled material, but how do you measure "earth friendliness"?
You must decide for yourself what shade of "green" you are comfortable with. Do you want to focus your efforts on buying products that are manufactured locally, thus limiting your impact on transportation? Perhaps you care most about removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from your life. If so, plan to do without hair spray and windshield wiper fluid. Maybe all of the packaging that ends up in landfills drives you crazy and you want to buy products that are minimally packaged.
Each of us has to make our own decisions about how to go "green," but there are many resources to help educate ourselves. Check out a website called The Rotten Truth to learn some facts about reducing your garbage. Also, the U.S. Green Building Council has information about environmentally responsible building practices. Lastly, the FTC has issued Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims "Green Guides".
