|
|
Letter To Our Vendors
We know you care as much about environmental issues as we do. That's why you make ecologically
superior products!
But of course, being green includes the packaging as well as the product. If you have already established green
packaging procedures, we (and your customers) appreciate it, and encourage you to share any innovations you develop
or discover.
If this is an issue that you've yet to address, we invite you to join Green Home in our commitment to promote
responsible, sustainable packaging, some of which is outlined below:
The Issue:
In the United States, as well as most other developed nations, packaging accounts for as much as one third of
our non-industrial, solid waste stream. Many countries have laws that require manufacturers to take back packaging
or pay for recycling but this is not the case in the U.S. Therefore, a lot of the packaging still ends up in our solid
waste landfills.
Our Position:
In assessing a product's greenness, Green Home considers both product and packaging, as it's all part of what
lands on our customer's doorstep. We look, for example, at the manufacturing, use and disposal options of packaging.
For additional guidance, we look the Federal EPA Initiative called Extended Product Responsibility (EPR).
Our Request:
We ask our vendors to use packaging that meets any or all of the following criteria.
- Eliminates toxic ingredients
- Uses less material
- Makes it more reusable
- Uses more recycled content
- Makes it more readily recyclable
We recognize that there may be a higher cost doing things this way. We have done some research in this area and are
standing by to help you make a change. Specifically, there is a packaging option that Green Home recommends:
EcoFoam™ packing "peanuts" made from cornstarch expanded with water. It has soft resilient properties similar to
polystyrene and is completely compostable, biodegradable and water- soluble. For more information visit
www.nationalstarch.com.
If you have questions about eco-friendly packaging, please contact our Director of Certification, Marc Mowrey. He can
be reached at (415) 282-6400 or at marc@greenhome.com.
Thank you for your help in creating a healthier place to live!
Sincerely,
|
