| Green World Now's Environmental Criteria
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Because there are so many viable eco-friendly products that do not fall under a valid third party certifier’s
established guidelines, no one set of established criterion can adequately evaluate the environmental
components of all products. With this in mind, we have developed the following list of considerations used to determine whether a product is sustainable:
Manufacturing
How is the material produced and what is the effect of the manufacturing process on the environment?
Composition
What is the product made of; in particular what type of adhesives, chemicals, solvents, etc. exist within the product?
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Use
How does the product behave during its life as a product? Does it release VOCs? How much energy
does it use? Are there other emissions or impacts on its immediate environment?
End of life considerations
How long does it last? Can it be recycled? What is the impact of its disposal on the environment?
Sustainability of product itself
How quickly can it be regenerated? (Eg. Bamboo vs. Cedar).
Harvesting
What damage is done during the harvesting process? How is the land aided in regenerating? Can it
self-regenerate?
Distance
How far does the product travel between harvesting and consumer usage, including distances traveled throughout all phases of manufacturing and distribution?
In addition, we respect and rely on the legitimacy of the well established third party certification schemes. These include, FSC, Energy Star, the LEED guidelines, Green Seal, WaterSense, CRI, as well as other certifications including those from the product’s original country of manufacture. Whenever possible we will follow the established gold standard and will act as an umbrella label for each valid third party, non-profit, or governmental certification. In this way we make accessible and easily identifiable the environmental
attributes of a given product for the consumer. We also avoid the conflict of interest that would be inherent in a private company evaluating its own eco-label.
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