Green FAQ's Demystifying Green…

Going Green, being green, green friendly, we hear it all around us.

• Everyone is talking about it, the consumer is asking for it.  
• Many businesses only want to do business with a company that has an environmental policy.
• Many employees prefer to work for a green environmentally friendly company.

What is Green? What does it all mean?

• Green is an environmental term which is defined as: products or services that have 
  a reduced mal-effect on health and the environment when compared with competing 
  products that provide the same functionality.

One of the questions facing businesses and consumers who are looking to act in an environmentally
responsible manner is what are “environmentally appropriate” products?

• Environmentally appropriate products are those that best meet the aims of environmentally 
  responsible management (i.e., using resources efficiently and minimizing chemical contamination).

What are the general principles that should be considered for product selection of “environmentally 
appropriate products? 

• In general, products should meet as many of the following criteria as possible:
  • Be less polluting & minimize waste
  • Maximize the use of bio-based or recycled materials
  • Conserve energy and water & are made from renewable materials
  • Are compostable, or biodegradable
  • Produce fewer polluting by- products and safety hazards during use and 
    disposal than competing products

What are the facts on plastic shopping bags?

• The plastics industry takes a cradle-to-the-grave approach to the manufacture of plastic shopping bags in all areas – from material reduction in their manufacture to championing curbside recycling of plastic bags to promoting aggressive anti-litter initiatives.
• The plastics industry knows that plastic shopping bags are a valuable resource that can be reused and recycled over and over again.
• They should not be thrown away.
• The Canadian plastics industry wants to make sure that Canadians recapture as many unused plastic shopping bags as possible and to recycle them.

How do you know if you are actually getting environmentally appropriate products?

• Sadly many companies are playing up their environmental credentials; 
  Kathryn Young, of CanWest News Service published a story Tuesday,
  November 20, 2007 that found “99 per cent of more than a thousand products 
  from big box stores committed at least one of the "Six Sins of Greenwashing
  (Greenwashing -- making false or misleading green marketing claims)."
• Make sure that the products that you buy are certified by a recognized independent third party.  
• In addition; BE INFORMED and DO BUSINESS with companies that you know to be highly ethical. 
  
  Dorfin has a track record of over 50 years of being a highly ethical company. 
  We are committed to verify the claims of the manufacturers of the products that we supply to 
  ensure that when we say that a product is "green friendly" that it is !
• Check out our Green Lingo page where some of the green terminology is explained.