Buying Green Products Is A Step Toward Going Green

When we think of “going green”, many of us think first of alternative energy, and many that think this is strictly a problem to be solved by the government and private industries. We, as individuals, have a responsibility to take our own steps toward going green. One way is to buy “green products”. Non-inclusive of alternative energy products, there are four primary categories of Green Products; Organic, Sustainable, Recyclable, and Recycled.

Organic Products

Organic products are foods or non-consumables that are raised without chemicals. You can actually buy foods, health and beauty products, cleaning products, and even clothes; all made from organic materials! The benefits of organic products include our own health, and the health of the planet. No chemicals in the earth also can eliminate or limit chemicals added to the groundwater from that area.

There are some roadblocks that are preventing organics from being the only type of products made from animals or plants.
(a) The cost of growing crops without chemical pesticides is still currently too high to keep costs down in the stores, but it is improving.
(b)Without chemical additives, the shelf-life of foods is much shorter than those with additives, which makes them less competitive. Flash freezing is a great way to maintain organic foods, but you cannot flash freeze the fresh produce people want and need for a healthy diet.

The good news is that scientists are constantly working to develop more ways to produce organic products without chemicals, using plant substitutes for chemical pesticides, and other measures that could produce healthier crops that may be able to keep themselves safe from pests. The very science that has made us all so dependent upon chemicals is the same that is going to rescue us from the chains we have put ourselves in. Wow, who would have thought that would ever happen!

Sustainable Products

Manufacturers are making more and more products using sustainable materials. Sustainable materials are from plants or animal fur (specifically: types of wool), and are not necessarily organic, but they can be. To be considered sustainable, the material must be able to re-grow itself; usually within one year. The use of bamboo is considered sustainable, as it re-grows so quickly, whereas other wood comes from mature trees that take years or even decades to re-grow. Wools are considered sustainable because sheep hair re-grows in an annual cycle, and goat hair is shorn twice a year.

So, pure cotton, silk, and wool clothing is sustainable, and can be organic as well, whereas blends made with polymers are not considered sustainable. Hemp, straw, and grasses are other materials used in clothing and accessories. Polymers are made of plastic fibers, which are made from chemicals that are not completely plant-based.

Recyclable Products

Most plastics (marked with a number enclosed in a triangle) can be recycled nowadays. The number in the triangle tells the recycler what chemicals are in the plastic, so that they are not accidentally placed together with non-compatible plastics (chemicals). Plastics are not capable of withstanding the superheated furnaces that steel mills use for recycling, so that impurities cannot be burned out. This means that for safety purposes, recycled products cannot be used for food or drink containers.

Most metals can be recycled, and some metals have a high value (copper is so valued that thieves will break open cooling systems at homes, schools, businesses, and even places of worship!), but only when separated from other materials. Junk yards and other dealers in used metals will not pay if they have to do anything other than smelt the metals.

Glass is made from sand, and if it is not an art product, it can be recycled. Since glass can be burned at such a high temperature, impurities are burned off, so the new glass can be used for any purpose, including sanitary uses.

Paper and cardboard can be recycled if there is no special coating on them. Photo paper cannot be recycled, but cardboard with a simple wax coating can be recycled. Paper is washed before going through the recycling process.

Recycled Products

Any glass window, food or drink glass container, or metal material can be recycled. Because there is no limitation on the uses of these recycled materials, consumers are not normally informed of this information. Also, the process of determining how much material is recycled, from where and whether it is post-consumer or from the smelting floor or from cuts made in the smelting factory is not yet in place. Steel mills will be the first to offer this capability, although product manufacturers have no liability to inform the consumers of recycled content. The reason for steel mills (and then possibly glass producers) are going to have the ability to know so much about the recycled content of their product is that the federal government’s LEED process, of which details about any recycled materials can be a big part.

Recycled plastics (as discussed above) cannot be used for sanitary purposes (as containers for chemicals and consumables). They are mostly used to make thick, heavy products (such as milk crates). The chemical changes at the molecular level do not happen with recycled plastics, as that process only happens with the original chemicals, and once done, cannot be undone. For this reason, the plastic needs to “bond” with itself, although not at a chemical level. This is why the recycled material is always so thick. At least the product is being recycled, which reduces the use of non-sustainable materials.

Recycled paper products are available at pretty much any office products or stationary store, and their purchase helps reduce the raw material otherwise used to make new paper. Sometimes manufacturers will blend new and recycled content. This will clearly be marked on the packaging.