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The Seven Sins of Greenwashing – Sin #2

"Mother Earth Approved"
photo by Adam Kuban
Today we’ll dive into Sin #2, The Sin of No Proof. But first, as a reminder, here’s a definition of Greenwashing:

GREENWASH
Greenwashing is “the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.”

SIN #2 – THE SIN OF NO PROOF
The Sin of No Proof is one where there isn’t a readily-available way to verify the claim. So my picture here of a wine “bottle” that claims to be “Mother Earth Approved” would be deceptive in that you can’t verify that claim. I visited the website for this wine and I think this is probably done largely in jest, but it’s still a claim that can’t be substantiated. The cartons are made of paper, “a renewable resource that comes from trees.” and are recyclable (much like milk cartons).

But many of the claims on this particular product’s website about package ratio, CO2 footprint, fuel efficiency (because they are lighter to transport) would be difficult to quantify. Sometimes a manufacturer will make claims that try to snow you with facts or figures or fine print that really can’t be determined or with data that is irrelevant or so vague as to be irrelevant.

“Green Guides” is a publication of the Federal Trade Commission that is seeking to set out some strict guidelines for what is appropriate in an advertiser’s claim and what isn’t. One example they give is a good indicator of what we need to be aware of:

“A trash bag is labeled ‘recyclable’ without qualification. Because trash bags will ordinarily not be separated out from other trash at the landfill or incinerator for recycling, they are highly unlikely to be used again for any purpose. Even if the bag is technically capable of being recycled, the claim is deceptive since it asserts an environmental benefit where no significant or meaningful benefit exists.”

As with all advertising claims, green or not, we as consumers need to be smart and aware. We need to pay attention, read closely how claims are worded and be sure we make the best decisions we can on our product purchases. The purpose of advertising is to get us to buy the product. And while many manufacturers will make accurate claims, there are those who will not. And with the proliferation of “green” as a consumer buzz-word and desire most of us have, we need to be even more aware.

Next Post: Sin #3 – The Sin of Vagueness

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The Seven Sins of Greenwashing – Sin #1

Eco-Friendly Disposable Diapers
In 2007, 2009 and 2010, a company called terrachoice published a report titled “The Seven Sins of Greenwashing”. And although they found that 95% of “green” consumer products they surveyed were found to be guilty of one of the seven sins, things do seem to be improving. More manufacturers are really living it, not just selling it. In my effort to raise your awareness of “green” claims (and being able to discern the truth about them), I want to post the seven sins here so you can have a better perspective and keep your guard up about manufacturers’ claims.

GREENWASH
Greenwashing is “the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.”

SIN #1 – THE SIN OF THE HIDDEN TRADE-OFF
The first sin is suggesting a product is “green” based on a narrow focus without drawing attention to larger environmental issues. The example they use is that of paper from sustainably-harvested forests may not take into account the incredible amount of water and resources that go into producing that paper.

I’m reminded of an old ad that said “8 out of 10 dentists recommend Brand X sugarless gum for their patients who chew gum.” Or “Brand Y Beer is America’s number one imported German Beer.” Both are very narrow areas of focus that may (or may not) miss the larger picture.

The eco-friendly disposable diapers shown above will still go into the landfills and, in my opinion, miss the whole point of whether or not disposable diapers are even a good way to go. Another example is the compostable or biodegradable disposable cups for coffee or water. An incredible amount of water goes into just making these cups, they are used once, then discarded. So while we have “backed up” from styrofoam cups to a more eco-friendly version, we have missed the point that we’re still throwing them away! A washable, reusable cup or glass (or diaper) will have a much more friendly impact on our world and our resources. And you know, it will cost less money in the long-term.

The three “R’s”, reduce, reuse, recycle start with reduce. We need to be willing to step back a bit and look at reducing what we consume first. Before we reuse something (which is the second step) and before we recycle something (third step), we should consider whether or not we should even be using it in the first place. And once we determine if we need to use it, do we really need something disposable or can we use something over and over? We get sucked into the “green” compostable cups or corn-based forks when a little extra time and effort washing glass cups and metal forks might be a better solution.

Our church is starting a new direction with our coffee bar on Sunday mornings. We are switching to glass cups and plates, metal forks and we’re going to wash them. It will be a bit of a challenge (the dishwasher is at the other end of the facility and a long walk), but our team is committed to at least giving it a try. Much of this stems from our belief of stewarding our planet and our spiritual response to our Creator, but you know, I think we’re going to find out we save money, too. And when you get into a win-win situation like that, it’s a good thing.

Next Post: Sin #2 – The Sin of No Proof

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Easy Doesn’t Always Mean Simple

My wife and I were out and about today and visited Bed Bath & Beyond. As we wandered through the store we came upon one of those product demos for a Krups Nescafe Dolce Gusto Piccolo 15 Bar Single Serve Beverage Maker (whew!) in Titanium/Black. I had been talking about doing some product reviews and had some thoughts mulling around on different products I could comment on.

But this one tipped the scale for me. As we listened to the demo, we saw how you could take individually-wrapped “capsules”, insert them into the machine, flip the lever and, viola! have an espresso or cappuccino in just minutes. For regular espresso, only one capsule is needed, but for a cappuccino, it takes two. And, of course, the pods are disposable.

By now, you may have sensed where I’m going with this. To enjoy the easy brewing of an eight ounce cappuccino, I will throw away, two capsule containers (plastic, I think, but not recyclable since they are contaminated with food waste) and for every eight cups, will consume a small cardboard box (which at least is recyclable). And the cappuccinos will cost me about $1.13 each (for just the capsules).

There are many ways to brew coffee and espresso without disposing and filling landfills. I have an espresso machine that has a metal reusable portafilter. Nothing disposable in it. And my coffee grounds make a great addition to the compost bin (if you’re so inclined).

For regular coffee, there are the cone filters that are washable and reusable. Single cup and for the brewers. And at $1.25 per cup for the Krups Nescafe Dolce Gusto Capsules, you’ll pay for the cost of a $10 reusable filter in a few days and even a fancy, durable $300 espresso machine in several months. I’ve had mine for two years and it’s still going strong.

Does this take more time? A little. Is it less money? A lot. Is it better all-around? Absolutely.

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Save Ink and $$

My wife, Brenda, was looking through a magazine and came across an article on back to school stuff. Now, just a reminder, our kids are adults and out on their own; that’s why we’re wanting to downsize our house.

But this article intrigued her. It talked about a software program called EcoFont that saves 25% on the ink needed to print text. Some time ago, I talked about going paperless as much as possible. But sometimes, you do have to print. And when you do, this may be a great option. EcoFont leaves small voids in the text that don’t get filled with ink. This, in turn, saves the amount of ink you use (greener, because you’re consuming less and that saves all along the way from manufacture to product to disposal) and it saves you money.

You can download a basic font for free at their site. I did and printed out various sizes of text, from 10pt to 64pt just to see how it looked. And it looked fine for your basic text sizes (10pt and 12pt). At 14pt, you can start to see the holes and, as you can see from my picture with this post, at 64pt, it becomes a decorative font.

But most of our printing is text, and most is usually around 12pt font and this is where it shines. Based in the Netherlands, the software doesn’t appear to yet be available in the US. And it currently is only for Windows based computers running MS Office. So being a Mac guy, I’m a little disappointed. But they SAY, they’re working on other versions.

So, EcoFont, I’m waiting with anticipation! I just printed a sustainability report for a client and it was 20 copies with 24 pages, so it would have been nice to be able to print in a more responsible manner.

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Junk Mail

So last time I talked about phone books. Today I’d like to talk about junk mail. No one gets junk mail do we? Oh, really? You do?

Our recycle bin at home is dominated by the junk mail that comes to us in the snail mail. I think that’s the dominant form of paper we recycle. Some, we don’t even open or look at. It simply goes from mail box to recycle bin to making more junk mail.

It’s even worse at my office; and with the economy the way it is, it seems to have ramped up. We get some of the trade magazines for free. And we get eight copies– one for each staff. Sometimes two or three per staff if they have multiple spellings of our names. One trade company I know was sending us 10 copies. I contacted them, said we really only need one (it’s still a good publication), they said they would get it down to one. We’re still getting 10 and it’s been over a year. Maybe I should publish their name here…

There is a company I discovered a few years ago and I will publish their name here. I discovered them when I was getting 3 copies a month of an Eddie Bauer mailing advertisement (when there isn’t an Eddie Bauer store within 100 miles of my home). It’s called Catalog Choice (http://www.catalogchoice.org/). It’s free and it works. Think of the number of trees and water used simply to make and print the paper junk mail is sent to us on.

Like I mentioned with the phone books last time, it’s a way to opt-out of catalogues you don’t want to get. Or multiple catalogues to one address. It’s easy to use. And, since I originally joined, they have added an opt-in for electronic catalogs called iCatalog. The way it works is retailers really do want to target their mail ads. We really only want to get what we want to get. Catalog Choice puts that together in a database and viola! less junk mail. Retailers are happy, I’m happy, it’s a win win.

And, with diligence, it has made a difference. Our home junk mail has been probably cut 60 to 70%. Not all retailers participate, but many do. And there are more and more each month. Check it out; it’s a way to more the “halve” your junk mail.

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Paper or Plastic? Neither!



I remember when I would go to the grocery store and the clerk would ask “paper or plastic?” We typically would say “paper” because it was easier to recycle. Our garbage company picks up recycles, but doesn’t do plastic bags. And we’d always forget to take our plastic bags back to the store. So they’d pile up in our recycle drawer. Paper was easier, but that bothered us, too.

So a few years ago, my wife and I decided to invest in durable, canvas bags. We bought four like the one pictured here from ECObags. They are durable, socially responsible canvas bags. About $9 each. And we love them! When we bought ours, they had a logo on the side that said “neither”. I liked that.

We’ve found it rare when four bags aren’t enough for our shopping. And we can pack them with heavy stuff and they hold up really well. The straps are sturdy and I’m amazed at the stuff we can load in them. Almost heavier than we can lift sometimes — really.

Plastic bags are convenient and cheap. But cheap isn’t always good. Worldwide, we consume and discard between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags. That’s about 1 million EVERY MINUTE! About 380 billion are in the US alone, 100 billion of those are grocery bags, costing retailers $4 billion annually.

We’ve found our bags useful for carrying all sorts of things around, not just our groceries. And even after three years, they’re still going strong.

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Going Paperless at Home

There are two technological marvels that I find incredibly helpful and amazing: pdf files and scanners.

A couple of years ago, I started trying to go paperless. There are actually a lot of easy ways to make progress in this area. First, I started with online banking. My statements are no longer mailed to me, but I access them online. I download them as pdfs.

Then I started paying bills online. And with the confirmation of the payment I used a handy little feature with my printer function called “print to pdf”. I print the receipts of my online payments to pdf files and organize them by month in file folders on my computer, not in my drawer.

But I still get those pesky receipts when I go shopping. And I’m even glad for them because they help me stay organized and keep track of budget things in Quicken. But now there’s a company called The Neat Company and they have a product called NeatDesk. It’s basically a scanner that can interface with your computer to scan documents, business cards and receipts. And it has the ability to batch feed about 10 in a bunch, so you don’t have to do them one at a time.

And it will export your receipt info to Quicken and your business card info to Address Book or Outlook. I haven’t bought one yet (although it’s on my list).

The thing I’ve found with saving stuff to pdf is how easy it is to retrieve data when I need it. It’s much easier than sifting through a stack of receipts or boxes of stuff.

So give it a try. You’ll love it!

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Tissues, Toilet Paper and Towels

This section of the blog will require a part one and a part two. There are five paper product areas I want to discuss. I’m going to talk about four of those here in part one and will cover the fifth in part two.

In the forest products industry, toilet paper is the number one part of the “tissue market”. The tissue market includes toilet paper, paper towels and napkins as well as facial tissues. In the U.S., we consume 50% more “tissue market” products than Europe and 500% more than Latin America.

Paper towels are the second most used tissue product. I couldn’t find reliable information on paper napkins and facial tissues. Much of the paper used in tissues and paper products like this is, fortunately, recycled. And, no, the “recycled” content of toilet paper isn’t recycled toilet paper. That would be gross. And think about it, used toilet paper goes down the drain and into the treatment sludge facility; recycling would be virtually impossible.

And, I’m not advocating going paperless with your toilet paper; even I have a limit. But I will suggest you buy double rolls, simply because they use half the little cardboard liner roller things and about half the packaging. And, check the recycled content of the toilet paper you buy.

But, when it comes to paper towels and napkins and facial tissues, I will advocate for going cloth. We switched to cloth cleaning towels quite some time ago and haven’t bought paper towels for a couple of years. We find it works very well and we have purchased enough cloth towels that we can run them as part of our normal washing load of laundry with virtually no additional effort. Buy white ones and use them over and over.

On facial tissues, I have used a cloth handkerchief since high school. I guess I got that habit from my dad. He always used a cloth hanky. To be honest, part of why I dislike paper facial tissues is my finger seems to always poke through into the snot. Sorry to be gross, but that’s my original motivation. Cloth has worked for me for a very long time.

We’ve recently switched (almost 100%) to some simple, white cloth napkins, too. This seems to be working fine for us. We haven’t gotten sick from using cloth napkins, handkerchiefs or towels, so I guess it’s OK. And, we are making even more progress in reducing our trash.

Give it a try; you may even like it better. I know it’s cheaper!