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Carbon Footprint. Eco-Friendly. Zero-Waste. Compostable. Sustainable. Carbon Neutral. Green. Energy Efficient. Biodegradable. Recyclable. Organic. Greenwashing. Carbon Offset. All-Natural. Vegan.
The list could actually go on for quite awhile. Is it only in the United States where important issues are brought up and supported (or not) through marketing and vocabulary that no one truly has a definition for? I understand companies needing to market their products, buuuut why do we always have to make it soooo complicated? Let’s demystify some of the buzzwords on climate change and make living (and shopping) with the environment in mind a little easier.
Our environment, the Earth’s climate…our Earth is a living, breathing entity that we have been allowed to dwell and thrive on. Without any thought at all for her well-being. Even though the craziness around climate change buzzwords can make shopping initially tough, it does point to the potential forward movement towards the population as a whole caring more about the environment.
Table of Contents
Green
Quite possibly the least-specific environmental marketing buzzword. When a product is labelled as “Green” it means the product and/or company is doing something to minimize the impact on the environment. Alternatively, it could mean that the product and/or company is doing something to benefit the health of the environment. A green product or company could mean anything from the company recycles in their offices to the product is made of recycled materials.
As the least-specific buzzword on the list, the suggestion is to do further research before investing your cash into a product/company simply because it is green.
Eco-Friendly/Environmentally-Friendly
Another fairly ambiguous and un-regulated term. The premise here is that the product/company is making decisions to reduce the effects the product and/or company has on the environment.
Energy Efficient/Renewable Energy
So both of these terms DO NOT mean the same thing, but as they both deal with energy consumption/production—I thought it would be easiest to place them together. Energy Efficient implies that the energy needed to power the product (think appliances: dishwasher, stove, refrigerator, washing machine, etc.) is not as high as others; the product uses the energy provided to it efficiently.
On the other hand, renewable energy are sources of energy. This includes wind, solar, and water. In theory, the amount of these resources is not considered finite, so they are considered renewable. This energy is harnessed through things like wind turbines, solar panels, water loops.
Organic
In order for a product (think produce or other food products) to be classified as organic, a couple of things have to happen. First, the product has be to be produced without any chemicals, including pesticides. Second, in order to obtain organic certification, there is an extra process and monetary involvement necessary.
Sometimes you may run into a product that says they source high, quality organic ingredients, but the product is not labelled as organic. A lot of companies site they would have to pass the cost of the organic certification onto the consumer, resulting in a price increase. If your product is labelled as organic, you can be sure of it due to the certification process.
Side Note: so my coffee isn’t organic due to the costs and procedures associated certification. The company sources all of it’s coffee from small farms that do not use pesticides or other chemicals on their beans, but are unable to proceed with certification. I guess my point here is: don’t always say no to something because it’s not organic. If you find a company/product that you trust, maybe look into the origins of it before writing it off.
Sustainable
This is more of an holistic environmental impact review. To be sustainable would be to look at the entire picture: source of the raw materials, the workers involved (living wage, working conditions), the energy consumption and type of energy needed to produce and transport the materials and/or products, the longevity of the product, and ultimately the end of it’s life—how it’s disposed of.
This is what we’re all about here at Naked Sustainability: looking at life holistically and trying to make informed decisions to help the environment while living life in the 21st century.
Biodegradable
A product will breakdown with the help of microorganisms over time, sometimes additional energy, such as heat, is needed. It should be noted here that biodegradable does not mean that the product will fully breakdown. For instance, some plastics are labelled as biodegradable. These plastics will normally need the addition of a relatively high heat to break down and/or will only degrade into micro-pieces. The micro-pieces and/or the plastics that never get exposed to the hight heat (think: in the ocean) are still a major a environmental threat to our oceans and water supplies.
Compostable
This is the term you want to look for. If a product is compostable it will degrade with the help of microorganisms and time! That’s it, AND you get the added bonus of creating high quality fertilizer/soil from the items that are labelled compostable. In general compostable is fruit/veggie scraps, cardboard, paper, and yard waste (including branches and leaves). Check out this post for more information.
Recyclable
A recyclable product can be reused, repurposed, or broken down to create a new product. Many, not all, plastics are recyclable and are used to create another type of plastic. If your recycling facility mentions REPURPOSING, just dive in and make sure you do your research first. My recycling facility repurposing glass that is recycled; they repurpose it by covering the landfill trash with broken glass daily. Since glass can last basically forever, this did not sit well with me.
Another term that has come into play regarding the recyclability of products is Upcycle. Upcycling would mean taking something destined for the landfill and giving it a new purpose: wine bottles into garden edging or bike tires into wall planters—and so much more.
So….we collect our glass that we don’t Upcycle for about six months at a time and drive it down to our nearest metropolitan area that recycles the glass (don’t worry, we were already going into the city for one thing or another. We don’t just drive an hour to recycle our glass).
Greenwashing
I don’t think many products claim “Greenwashing,” but as a consumer it is an important term to know. Think back to the beginning of this list with the vague, ambiguous, un-regulated terms that companies use to make it seem like they are conscious of the the environment (whether they are or not); the case where the company is NOT concerned for the environment, but they are still labelling their product green or environmentally-friendly would be greenwashing. The company is trying to capitalize on the environmental movement by utilizing these un-regulated buzzwords. As with anything in life, carving out a little time for research prior to purchasing a product is recommended and very beneficial.
Zero-Waste
This one is probably the newest term on the market (or at least the newest to me in rural farmland). The focus of zero-waste is to eliminate ALL waste by minimizing consumption, reusing, recycling, or rotting (composting). This well-meaning buzzword has received some negative press recently because in today’s world it is virtually impossible to be zero-waste and the thought is that the term zero-waste makes it harder for consumers to get behind. Terms like “low-waste” or “minimal-waste” have been presented as the entry-level of zero-waste.
I don’t think we need to let zero-waste scare us; in fact, this post has super simple ways to get started! Our whole lives (well, most of us anyway) will never be zero-waste, but zero-waste products show us that companies care about their production habits, their packaging, and the end-of-life stage of their product. And that is VAST improvement in this fight for the environment.
Carbon Footprint/Carbon Offset/Carbon Neutral/Net-Zero Carbon
These terms are a little “big-picture” scary to me. Similar to sustainable, they look at the entire picture of their greenhouse gas emissions, called the carbon footprint. For forwarding thinking companies, that want to (or have to per government mandates) evaluate their greenhouse gas emissions, they normally lump themselves in two categories on their way to eliminating or reducing their emissions: Carbon Offset OR Net-Zero Carbon.
Most companies are striving towards Carbon Neutral by {insert some year a couple decades away}, which means that their production, shipping, marketing, etc. will not produce ADDITIONAL greenhouse gas emissions. They can do this by Carbon Offsetting, planting trees to absorb the gases they do emit, OR be Net-Zero Carbon, which means they’re implementing systemic changes to REDUCE the amount of greenhouse gases produced and then offsetting as a last resort.
11 Climate Change Buzzwords
There you have it! 11+ buzzwords and the real-world definitions to help you navigate the endless marketing speech thrown at you. Honestly, I think it’s crazy that in this environmental crisis we still have to research the buzzwords and how they are used. But, I guess the creation of buzzwords for marketing purposes indicates a positive consumer trend towards caring for the environment.