Events Listings

It is wonderful and exciting that many businesses are waking up to the fact that “going green” can make a lot of green ($$, that is). It is not so wonderful that a whole bunch of products that claim to be green are actually far from good.  

Paint, for example. Some companies have removed certain chemicals, only to substitute even more offensive ones. There are other products that claim to be green because of recycled content that can still be extremely toxic to use.  

These days, the greenest companies are using the Triple Bottom Line Standard—i.e. social responsibility, environmental responsibility and profitability. 

While no one is perfect, certain brands do have good green track records while others are new and still superb. So what is a consumer to do? How to judge? Here are some questions to ask across the board:  

• What is the material? Is its content natural and non-toxic? Not all that is natural is meant to be used in everyday products (lead and arsenic, for example).  

• Is it genetically engineered? (Soy and corn products, for example, are most likely made from G.E. crops if they are not certified organic)  

• What was the impact of manufacturing this product? Was the environment harmed in the process? Were people producing this product treated fairly, with healthy working conditions? The International Fair Trade Federation certifies products to have been made under decent working conditions and adequate pay for the people involved. 

• Where does it come from? Is it locally produced?  

• How much embodied energy does it hold?(Embodied energy is the amount of combined resources used to access, manufacture, transport and dispose of a product.) 

• Is this product healthy to use?  

• What is the finishing on the product—is it natural and healthy? What is the packaging material, and is the packaging actually necessary? 

• Can this product be healthfully recycled, reused or bio-degraded? Does it have a third-party verification of its eco-claims? 

In addition to the Fair Trade Federation, there are a growing number of verification and other non-profit organizations that are excellent resources for answering many of these questions. And while it isn’t always possible for us as individual consumers to find the answers, the more questions we ask and the more often we ask them, the greener and cleaner the products we buy will become. 

Berkeley resident Alisa Rose Seidlitz is a certified green building professional, eco-interior and landscape desinger, and green feng shui consultant. She owns Optimal Environments garden design company. She wrote “Simple Green Solutions: 12 Steps to Make a Difference” in the April 15 issue. 

Resources:  

www.fairtradefederation.org and www.rugmark.org verifies that no child labor has been used.  

www.foreststewardshipcouncil.org and sfiprogram.org to verify sustainably grown and harvested wood products. 

www.energystar.gov for verification of energy saving appliances.  

www.environmentaldefense.org is an all around good informational source.