Eco Friendly Materials
and Promotional Products Glossary
Environmentally friendly, or eco-friendly, products or services,
have little or no impact on the environment and its resources in
the breakdown process. Our Glossary is intended to educate consumers
on the benefits of buying green and the materials involved in creating
every day products that leave virtually no carbon footprint.
Bamboo Garments – Bamboo is naturally grown
material. Bamboo is 100% biodegradable, sustainable, and also naturally
antibacterial.
Biodegradable – A material is biodegradable
if it is capable of decomposing through the sole effort of biological
agents. In other words, a biodegradable material breaks down naturally,
returns raw materials to the earth, and has no negative environmental
impact. Biodegradable cups are a great way to reduce waste!
Bonded Leather – Bonded Leather is an environmentally
friendly solution to leather production byproduct problem. Bonded
Leather is a man made material created with recycled leather fiber
and leather scrap that would otherwise go to waste, and eventually
end up in a landfill. Also known as Reconstituted Leather, Bonded
Leather is usually made up of 66% recycled leather fibers, 30% (Natural)
Latex, and 4% Tanning Oil.
Compostable – A compostable product is a
product that is able to be biologically decomposed over time without
leaving an unnatural byproduct.
Corn Plastic– Corn plastic is derived from
corn and is a 100% biodegradable material. Try a corn plastic coffee
mug for home or the office!
Cotton-Organic– Organic cotton is grown
without the use of chemically altered fertilizer and is in no way
genetically engineered. In addition, for cotton to be considered
organic it must be grown in soil that has been completely chemical
free for at least three years. Organic cotton ensures that cotton
is grown with a minimal ecological impact.
Cyclepet – Recycling PET into fabric prevents
it from ending up in the landfills.
Green – The green movement is a general
term that refers to groups of people and organizations focused on
environmental awareness and bioregionalism. The term “Green”
is very often inappropriately used to lump in any effort to be more
environmentally friendly, which could mean simply cutting back on
environment damaging practices.
Organic- Organic products are made and grown without
the use of chemically altered fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics,
genetic engineering, or synthetic hormones. Organic growers and
handlers must be certified by organizations that are accredited
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Bring organic tote bags to
the grocery store to reduce plastic waste.
OrganicLeather – Organic leather is often
made from the hides of organically fed animals, but the true organic
benefit comes from the fact that the leather is tanned using only
plant tanners, vegetable extract tanners, and other tanners approved
by TUV. By using these tanners, toxins created by the tanning process
(run off & disposal) is reduced to zero. This is extremely important
as normal chrome leather tanner produces toxic chrome when incinerated
and will thus not fully decompose.
PET– Polyethylene terephthalate is the
most popular thermo plastic packaging material used for drinks and
food. It is lightweight, transparent, and has a good moisture barrier,
making it good for bottled mineral water, food trays for oven use,
videotapes, and mechanical components. PET soda bottles are the
most recycled container.
Polypropylene & Non-Woven Polypropylene –
Polypropylene is made up from carbon and hydrogen, and is manufactured
without any dangerous emissions. Polypropylene can be recycled,
incinerated, or land filled without any harm to the environment.
When burnt, polypropylene will only give off water vapor and carbon
dioxide, which is converted by photosynthesis. Polypropylene is
sometimes known as “pp”.
Post-consumer material/waste – Term used
to describe material that is being reused/recycled after it has
been in the consumer’s hand (i.e. soda bottles, yogurt containers).
Material or product used by the consumer for its original purpose
and then discarded.
Post-Industrial material – Term used to
described scrap or excess material that a manufacturer reuses or
recycles throughout the manufacturing process.
Recyclable – A recyclable material is a
material that is able to be reused. Such materials include glass
of any sort, paper products, aluminum, asphalt material, iron and
other metals, textiles, plastics and biodegradable waste.
Recycled – A recycled material is one that
has been separated from the waste stream, reprocessed into a new
material and subsequently brought back as a new item.
Recycled Cardboard –Recycled cardboard is
made using cardboard that has been discarded or previously used
by a company or consumer.
Recycled Content – The amount of pre-and
post-consumer recovered material introduced in a material production
process, usually expressed as a percentage.
Recycled Leather – Material is untreated
and is made with leather scraps – recycled to save waste.
(As opposed to scraps going into a landfill, they are recovered
and reprocessed to make leather material.)
SAFEPlastic – SAFEPlastic is considered
environmentally safe because it is completely biodegradable when
introduced into landfills or smaller composting environments. There
are no toxic effects to the environment if discarded, and SAFEPlastic
can even be recycled.
Soy/Soya Bean – Soy bean or soya bean products
are extremely environmentally friendly in that they are not toxic
and 100% biodegradable.
Soy/Soya Wax Candle –A soy (soya) bean wax
candle does not emit dirty soot, and because it burns cooler, a
soy bean wax candle last approximately 33% longer than your standard
candle. In addition, non-chlorine bleached cotton wicks also burn
cleaner, cooler and longer. These candles are also 100% biodegradable.
Tree-Free – Tree Free paper is made with recycled (post consumer)
paper in combination with industrial hemp / organic cotton. This
paper eliminates the need to use bleached wood pulp to create paper,
effectively cutting back on the need to log trees for paper production.