Information To Look For To Make Sure A Product Is Truly Eco Friendly

When considering whether or not a product is really eco-friendly, how a product is manufactured and can be disposed of is important. When considering whether or not a product is sustainable, keep in mind the materials chosen, manufacturing processes, and transportation. Some manufacturers are now actually required by law to conduct an LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) study. This is when a manufacturer looks at how their product affects the environment throughout it's life time.

Digging a little deeper into a consumer's product and all the processes that contribute to its production and disposal can help us better understand how our buying habits effect the environment. This includes extraction, manufacturing, processing, transportation and disposal operations. An analysis of these operations essentially documents the inputs (water, energy, raw materials) and outputs (products and wastes), for these various steps. Life-cycle analysis (LCA) has most often been used to compare two or more products, such as plastic vs glass vs aluminum beverage containers, for their environmental impact. While LCA can be used as comparative tool, comparing energy usage between plastic, glass and aluminum beverage containers, it does not provide a way to rank the importance of the factors examined. For example, what should be ranked higher in importance in maintaining a healthy environment: energy usage, air quality, water quality, or solid waste? How do we compare the environmental impact of 1 pound of toxic heavy metal sludge to 1 gallon of water use?

Until we find a completely harmless method for producing only the highest quality materials, it will continue to be an ongoing decision for the end user, you. You have the knowledge to research and find the best solution as well as the power to follow through on it even if it may cost more or take longer. That being said, you can rest assured that Verde Lifestyles has done tons of research to find the best resources and provide the most eco-friendly products around.