Eco-Chic - Green Terms
8.11.11
I thought it would be beneficial to maybe clarify green terms at this point and the real definitions behind them, for how can we be aware of Marketing Greenwashing if we don’t know what we should be truly looking for.
Alternative
energy – usually environmentally friendly, this is energy from
uncommon sources such as wind power or solar energy, not fossil fuels.
Alternative
fuels
– similar to above. Not petrol or diesel but different transportation fuels
like natural gas, methanol, bio fuels and electricity.
Biodegradable –
something when left alone break down and be absorbed into the eco-system.
Carbon footprint – a measure of the
your impact on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases
produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.
Climate change – a change in
temperature and weather patterns due to human activity like burning fossil
fuels.
Eco-assessment – an evaluation of
your home or workplace with the aim of cutting your energy and water usage.
Environmentally
preferable – products or services that have a lesser or reduced
effect on the environment.
Energy
efficiency – ways and technology that can reduce the amount of
electricity or fuel used to do the same work. Such as keeping a house warm
using less energy.
Fair trade - is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing
countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the
payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and
environmental standards
Fossil fuel – coal, oil and natural gas. A fuel that’s been made by the decomposition of fossilised plants and animals.
FSC – The Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC) is an international
not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established in 1993 to promote
responsible management of the world’s forests. Its main tools for achieving this are standard setting,
independent certification and labeling of forest products
Glass recycling – Glass bottles and
jars can be recycled endlessly. That means that unlike some other recycled
products, a recycled bottle can be recycled into another glass bottle. And
another, and so on forever
Green design – a design, usually
architectural, conforming to environmentally sound principles of building,
material and energy use. A green building, for example, might make use of solar
panels, skylights, and recycled building materials.
Greenhouse effect – explains global
warming. It’s the process that raises the temperature of air in the lower
atmosphere due to heat trapped by greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide,
chlorofluorocarbons, and ozone.
Greenwashing - (a compound word modeled on "whitewash"),
or ""green sheen"",[1][2] is a form of spin
in which green PR or green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception
that a company's policies or products
are environmentally
friendly.
LEED - Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design, standard for Green Building
Life cycle assessment – methodology
developed to assess a product’s full environmental costs, from raw material to
final disposal.
Natural - A natural material is any
product or physical matter that comes from plants, animals, or the ground. Minerals and the metals that can be extracted from them (without further
modification) are also considered to belong into this category.
No CFC ’s - Products that do not contain CFC ’s (chlorofluorocarbons), which are chemicals
that damage the Earth’s protective ozone layer.
Non-renewable resources – Resources that are
in limited supply, such as oil, coal, and natural gas.
Non- toxic - Ingredients
which pose no health risks. Household cleaning products generally contain this
label. This label claim is not regulated by government standards.
Off gassing - Outgassing (sometimes
called off gassing, particularly
when in reference to indoor air quality)
is the release of a gas that was dissolved, trapped, frozen or absorbed
in some material.[1] As an example, research has
shown how the concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has
sometimes been linked to ocean outgassing.
Organic – while it technically refers to
molecules made up of two ore more atoms of carbon, it’s generally now used as a
term for the growth of vegetables etc without the use or artificial pesticides
and fertiliser.
Recycling – the
process of collecting, sorting, and reprocessing old material into usable raw
materials.
Reduce – not
using or buying products in the forest place so less waste, less recycling and
less reusing.
Renewable
energy – alternative energy sources such as wind power or solar
energy that can keep producing energy indefinitely without being used up.
Renewable resources – Like renewable
energy, resources such as wind, sunlight and trees that regenerate
Sustainable - products are made with renewable resources,
such as forests harvested using methods to protect soil, water, and plant and
animal life.
VOC - Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic chemicals
that have a high vapor pressure
at ordinary, room-temperature
conditions. Their high vapor pressure results from a low boiling point, which
causes large numbers of molecules to evaporate or sublimate from the liquid or solid form of
the compound and enter the surrounding air.
Stay Green my friends, and remember to be truly green you
are constantly asking questions and reading labels!
Thank you to Wikipedia and Life Goggles for the
definitions.
Until next time,
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