There is a whole lot of lingo out there to describe what is green/eco-friendly. Here is a handy chart to help you figure out if what you are purchasing is really green, and how green it actually is!
| Eco-friendly, environmentally friendly, Planet friendly | A product or process that has little or no impact on the environment. Products, services, and actions that do not negatively impact the Earth and its resources. |
| Recycled Material | A term used to describe material that has been separated from the waste stream, reprocessed into a new product (often taking the place of virgin material), and then brought back by the consumer as a new item. |
| Recycled Content | The amount of pre- and post-consumer recovered material introduced in a material production process, usually expressed as a percentage. |
| Post-consumer material/waste | A term used to describe material that is being resued/recycled after it has been in the consumer’s hands (e.g., a soda bottle being converted into material for other products). Material or product used by the consumer for its original purpose and then discarded. |
| Cyclepet | Recycled PET; Recycling PET into fabric prevents it from ending up in the landfills. (Also, sometimes referred to as Cyclotex nylon.) |
| PET | Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) 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 recylced plastic containers. |
| Post-industrial or pre-consumer waste / recycled content | A term used to describe material that is being resused/recycled before it ever goes to market. Waste material generated during the manufacturing process. |
| Recycled Cardboard | Material made from cardboard that has been discarded or used once by a consumer. |
| Recycled Leather | Material is untreated and is made with leather scraps – recycled to save waste. (As opposed to the scraps going into a landfill, they are recovered and reprocessed to make this material.) The process of recycling leather in this manner is gentler on the environment than the traditional process for bonded leather. |
| Renewable | Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on the Earth. Bamboo can also produce 30% more oxygen than a hardwood forest of comparable size, while improving watersheds, preventing erosion, restoring soil, and removing toxins from contaminated soil. |
| Biodegradable | The ability of an item to break down, safely and relatively quickly, by biological means into the raw materials of nature and disappear back into the environment. |
| Recyclables | The ability of an item, at the end of its normal lifecycle, to be transformed into another useful product. Recyclable materials include glass, paper, aluminum, tin, corrugated, and plastics. Products include food and beverage containers, newspapers, appliances, automobiles, electronics, drywall, and eyeglasses. |
| Organic | Items that are grown on land that, for three or more years, has been free of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, as well as other potential toxins. The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires adherence to detailed regulations in order to label a product as organic. Most experts agree that organic farming is less harmful to the soil. |
| Eco Lifestyle; Green Lifestyle; Green Living | Lifestyle in which individuals and groups take a variety of steps to minimize their impact on the environment. Steps may include recycling products, choosing recycled, renewable, and sustainable products, and reducing carbon emissions through consuming less energy and/or offsetting carbon emissions (e.g., planting trees). |
Click on this chart for a printable version!
