A Note from the Designer: “The recent explosion of interest and growth in the green design movement is both a source of inspiration and hesitation for today’s interior designer. As the market becomes inundated with new and exciting sustainable products, it is the responsibility of the designer to wade through the flood of green claims with a discerning eye; to find sustainable solutions that truly adhere to the principles of the “triple bottom line” of people, planet, and profit.” – Kate MacAulay: CAI Designer
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Understanding “Green” Terms and Labels
Green Certification
“As market demand for healthy, ecologically friendly products has skyrocketed over the past few years, there has been an explosion of “green” product claims with varying degrees of legitimacy. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has established guidelines for environmental marketing claims, stating that product claims should be supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence, which should include testing, analysis, research, studies and other professional evidence. Only robust, independent, third-party certification based on stringent standards and verification requirements ensures truthful and credible messaging to help customers make healthy and sustainable product choices.”
Who is Behind Eco-Labels?
“Many claims and labels only have the appearance of legitimacy, but are nothing more than marketing logos without any verification or substantiation behind them. Other eco-labels are run by manufacturers, trade or industry organizations, or the criteria and standards they use were created by these special interest groups. Credible third-party certification is verified, designed and conducted by an independent body with no financial interest in the sale of the certified products or ties to manufacturers or industry besides fees for assessment services.”
For more information, visit Greenguard.
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What is “Greenwashing” and How Do We Avoid It?
Greenwashing comes in all forms; and while many of these issues are more prevalent in the retail or corporate worlds, it is important to be familiar with the “Seven Deadly Sins of Greenwashing”.
- Sin of the Hidden Trade-off: committed by suggesting a product
is “green” based on an unreasonably narrow set of attributes without
attention to other important environmental issues. Paper, for example,
is not necessarily environmentally-preferable just because it comes from
a sustainably-harvested forest. Other important environmental issues in
the paper-making process, including energy, greenhouse gas emissions,
and water and air pollution, may be equally or more significant.
- Sin of No Proof: committed by an environmental claim that cannot be
substantiated by easily accessible supporting information or by a reliable
third-party certification. Common examples are tissue products that claim
various percentages of post-consumer recycled content without providing
any evidence.
- Sin of Vagueness: committed by every claim that is so poorly defined or
broad that its real meaning is likely to be misunderstood by the consumer. “All-natural” is an example. Arsenic, uranium, mercury, and formaldehyde are
all naturally occurring, and poisonous. “All natural” isn’t necessarily “green”.
- Sin of Irrelevance: committed by making an environmental claim that
may be truthful but is unimportant or unhelpful for consumers seeking
environmentally preferable products. “CFC-free” is a common example,
since it is a frequent claim despite the fact that CFCs are banned by law.
- Sin of Lesser of Two Evils: committed by claims that may be true within
the product category, but that risk distracting the consumer from the greater
environmental impacts of the category as a whole. Organic cigarettes might
be an example of this category, as might be fuel-efficient sport-utility vehicles.
- Sin of Fibbing: the least frequent Sin, is committed by making environmental
claims that are simply false. The most common examples were products
falsely claiming to be Energy Star certified or registered.
- Sin of Worshiping False Labels: The Sin of Worshiping False Labels
is committed by a product that, through either words or images, gives the
impression of third-party endorsement where no such endorsement actually exists.
For more information, visit Terrachoice.
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Third Party Certification Standards to Look For |
