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By Scott Huntington
Walk down the aisle of any grocery store, and it’ll be easy to see that there’s a growing trend toward eco-friendly practices and products. Then look online and you’ll see the same thing. NBC had a whole “green week,” Adidas created a new shoe made from ocean waste, and even Ford is touting an EcoBoost engine and products. But, how can you tell if a company is truly committed to environmental sustainability, or if it's just trying to cash in on the ever-growing eco-friendly market? Read on to find out.
For example, something that says “all-natural” or “eco-friendly” doesn’t carry as much weight as a label that reads, “Made with 100 percent natural, organic and fair-trade ingredients” or, “Manufactured at a plant that has an ongoing plan to reduce carbon emissions.”
Precision Power Washing of Texas does this particularly well (see below). It calls many of its services “eco-friendly,” but so does everyone else. What sets the company apart is that it has a whole section of its website devoted to detailed information of how its service helps the environment.
Keep in mind, even if you discover a company has “gone green” only recently, that doesn’t necessarily mean it has less-than-pure intentions. Sometimes companies are best equipped to strive toward environmentally-friendly practices only after the technology has been put in place to make it possible.
When deciding to lend your patronage to a particular establishment, experiment with different ways to incorporate environment-related questions into your chats.
To help you determine a company’s intention, simply say, “Has your business done anything specific to combat climate change? This is a very important issue for me.” If a manager meets your answer with a blank stare or dismissive response, that kind of feedback may be your cue to look elsewhere when you need a service provider or product.
In 2012, Starbucks Coffee launched cup sleeves that resulted in saving approximately 100,000 trees annually. Measures like that demonstrate the company doesn’t just talk about a desire to be kind to the Earth, but it actually uses products that support the intention.
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Hopefully, you now feel more confident that you’ll be able to maintain your priority of being kind to the environment when you shop. However, keep in mind that being a proactive consumer is a process. Although you may make some mistakes along the way, even being motivated to support companies that have green mindsets is a very important step in the right direction. It’ll minimize the size of your personal carbon footprint, too.
Image credits: WikiCommons | SpoolTuning | PPWTX | Starbucks
Scott Huntington is a writer and blogger. Follow him on Twitter @SMHuntington
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