Reward Companies That Demonstrate Concern for the Environment

Whenever your purchase something, whether it’s a birthday card or an automobile, your choice will have some effect on the environment. Is the card made from recycled paper; is it printed on bleached paper; does it contain pieces of plastic or toxic dyes? How fuel-efficient is the car; does it have an overdrive gear; is it equipped with air conditioning or power windows? Answers to questions such as these help determine the environmental impact of a product.

You can be a “green” consumer – one who buys goods and services that in their manufacture, use and disposal are least harmful to the environment. Support companies that manufacture environmentally friendly products, that minimize waste, and that practice and encourage recycling.

Ample evidence indicates that corporations are becoming more sensitive about how their goods and services affect the environment and about how their companies are perceived by their customers. If enough consumers show by their purchases that they want to buy environmentally benign products, companies will pay attention. Recent public opposition to fishing techniques that trapped dolphins in tuna drift nets led the three biggest tuna canning companies to agree to buy only from fishing boats that use other methods.

How can you identify which products in a certain category are environmentally preferable? The Canadian government has established a program called Environmental Choice. Products that meet certain standards are identified with the symbol of three intertwined doves. The products must be derived from renewable resources; they must be nontoxic and either recyclable or biodegradable; and their packaging must meet certain criteria.

In addition, Canada’s largest supermarket chain, Loblaws, carries a line of President’s Choice GREEN products. Items with this stamp of approval include unbleached, reusable coffee filters and toilet tissue made from recycled paper.

Identifying environmentally friendly products in the United States is more difficult. At present there are no nationally accepted standards for determining what products are environmentally sound – or even standards for defining such terms as “biodegradable” and “recyclable”.

Recognizing the marketing importance of environmentalism, a few companies have attempted to appear environmentally sensitive by making irrelevant, deceptive and even false claims about their products. An aerosol spray can may proclaim “No CFCs” while still containing other hazardous compounds. A plastic trash bag might be touted as “photobiodegradable” in spite of that fact that state landfill regulations will not permit it to be exposed to the elements so that it can decompose. An environmentally harmful product, such as a high-phosphate detergent, may come wrapped in “green” packaging made from recycled paper.

One U.S. retailer, Wal-Mart, identifies what it considers to be environmentally preferable products with green and white labels that point out the products’ beneficial features, the store determines which item merit recognition by considering both their composition and packaging.