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Understanding Green

GREEN: The word "green" has many uses. Recently, “Green” has been used to describe something that is helpful to the environment, even though this can mean anything from saving water to saving electricity. There is no “standard” for applying the word “Green” to any product line, so you must be careful to read ingredients on products to see if they really are “green.”

ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE/FRIENDLY: These terms are used interchangeably in today's world. Theoretically, these terms would be used to describe something “more” friendly to the environment than something else. Since the International Organization for Standardization has no current basis for measurement, these terms are too vague to be taken at face value. Looking at the ingredients on any given product will help you identify whether these are actually “green” products. For those that are not familiar with what ingredients are ‘green’, you should look for products having a certification logo on the label from the EPA’s (DfE) Design for the Environment, USDA’s BioPreferred or Green Seal programs for ‘green’ chemistry. These are USA- third party certifying organizations that have standards in place that are strictly focused on ‘green’ formulation. When you see these logos on a label it is assurance that the product meets the standards for ‘green’ chemistry.

DESIGN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: This is a United States’ Environment Protection Agency program that helps to distinguish products that are actually safer to the environment and to people. The EPA evaluates each product to measure the impact on the environment. Since the EPA evaluates these products before giving their seal of approval, these products are the best products if you are looking to "GO GREEN."

BIOPREFERRED: This is a United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) BioPreferred program for 'green' chemistry using BioBased ingredients. Biobased products are defined by USDA as products that are composed in whole or in large part of agricultural or forestry materials. Biobased products may include plant, animal and marine materials. The BioPreferred is a Federally-managed program backed by Executive Order 13514- now a law- which requires preferred purchasing preference for BioPreferred biobased products.

When you see a product with the BioPreferred logo, it has been certified by the USDA as 'green' chemistry.

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