No Comments
In a world where going ‘Green’ is the new In, many terms are used interchangeably to represent eco-consciousness, but its important that we know what those terms mean and how they apply to being green. Get your dictionaries out, its vocab. 101 all over again!
Eco- Friendly Vocab
In a world where going ‘Green’ is the new In, many terms are used interchangeably to represent eco-consciousness, but its important that we know what those terms mean and how they apply to being green. Get your dictionaries out, its vocab. 101 all over again!Green house gases
Earth is kept warm by absorbing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and water vapor, and emitting those gases as infrared radiation. Greenhouse gases are often assumed to be bad, but without them Earth would be 30 degrees constantly. That’s winter all year round! Alternately, if we produce more green house gases than can be recycled, the earth will get warmer and less inhabitable.
Locally sourced
This means that ingredients and materials are made or grown locally. So there are no preservatives added to the ingredients, or excessive transportation costs. Buying locally sourced stuff helps reduce your carbon footprint. (See How to reduce your carbon footprint) sometimes local is just as good, if not better, than organic.
Organic
Organic has been used to refer to everything from Gucci boots to Canned corns. Organic means that a product has been grown without the use of harmful chemicals, making them better for the earth, better for you.
Fairly Traded
This doesn’t mean that your dress has been used before! Fair trade means that the product you’re purchasing is providing a living wage to artisans and producers in developing countries for their products. Fair Trade is an organized social movement and that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions.
Recycled
Recycled materials are either brought to a collection center or picked up from the curbside, then sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into new materials bound for manufacturing. Recycling prevents waste of potentially useful materials, reduces the consumption of fresh materials, energy usage, air pollution, and water pollution (from landfilling). All its potential uses makes recycling the coolest, most-popular way of being eco- friendly.
Biodegradable waste
Biodegradable waste includes things like food, plants, compost, etc, which cannot be recycled into renewable products. Biodegradable stuff is broken down by reactions in the atmosphere and turned into things which make the soil fertile enough to grow healthy organic products. Although similar in effect, the reuse of biodegradable waste is not considered recycling.
Sustainable
Sustainable products are made from renewable resources, which means they can be reused (just like recycling), but require less effort. A sustainable dress for example is made of fabric which can be reused or remade into something else. Most simply, the idea of sustainability, is to ensure that our actions and decisions today do not inhibit the opportunities of future generations.
Eco-conscious production
The processes used to make eco-friendly products. Think wind-powered factories and recycled waste-water.
Eco-conscious companies
These companies have eco-minded missions. some are striving to incorporate more eco-materials, others donate percentages of profits to eco-relates causes.
Eco-fashion
Eco-fashion is all about choosing clothing manufactured in an environmentally sound way, without sacrificing your ideals of style, comfort, and aesthetics. See http://www.shopenvi.com/ for more definitions and cool eco friendly stuff.
Submit a Comment