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Navigating eco terms is confusing for people like us who live and breath it, so picking your way through some of the terms ( if you have a life) can be confusing and in some cases, eco terms can hide some naughtiness.
Green washing is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as -
"behaviour or activities that make people believe that a company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is".
This pretty much sums it up, and let's face it, this is a very real modern issue, as we all become more aware of the climate crisis.
Luckily the team at The Pure Option™ have a handy guide that explains these terms using facts and a sprinkle of science.
Let's start with the naughty ones (unless your in Australia).
Biodegradable - ( with the exception of Australia and France that have a real standard) is something that will break down in under 1000 years and by this definition , very few things aren't biodegradable and there is no guarantee as to the damage it will do to the environment when it breaks down, so it really doesn't mean anything as the only things we could think of that aren't biodegradable is glass, silicone and plutonium rods.
We do want to add that some biodegradable products are good for the environment but in most cases the ambiguity about the term is abused to imply it has some environmental benefits.
OXO Biodegradable - These are products made of materials with added metals salts and cobalt to speed up degradation when added to landfill but the problem is that their are two camps when it comes to OXO products , the one camp that says it works and one that doesn't , our view is it's the better of the two poor options but it is still a poor option compared to the compostable option.
The room to improve options.
We only supply products that have an environmental benefit so our products fit into two material types.
Recyclable - 100% of our products are compostable and biodegradable but a number of them are also recyclable.
So are recyclables an issue?
It's all in the name , people forget that recycling is just recycling a problem material but somethings are best recycled and somethings are not suitable for recycling, this is why we don't make an alternative to the aluminium can because its the best material for its usage.
So recycling is great, but it really does depend on what your recycling , as mentioned if it's aluminium , it's great, if it's recycling cardboard it's also great (although composting it does add additional environmental benefits) , if it's recycling plastics, it's not so great as this is just recycling a problem material ( when the simple solution is just change the material to a better one) and some plastics (like PET used for water bottles for example) can only be recycled up to 4 times before it becomes so weak it is no longer recyclable.
So it's a bit of a complex situation and as you would expect us to say , using a material that can be composted is better than recycling but the real question is "Is there a better material for it's use" , simple rule of thumb is, if its a single use item ( designed for use and then throw away", then their is better materials such a PLA (corn based), Bagasse (sugar base), Vegetables and wood.
The other questions is "Is it being recycled" and the fact that you can find UK Supermarket bags in the Indian ocean, tells you that it isn't always being recycled.
So it's goes back to why use a problem material when you can use a plant based material that doesn't need recycling and adds positively to the environment, to use its very simple don't put barriers in peoples way, just remove the problem material, its simple really and it amazes us how often we read articles about " use a reusable cup" rather than "use a disposable cup that is made from plants".
This leads us onto, why we know that the answer to the plastic problem is plants as they are 100% compostable.
The it's all gravy, as people in the US say ( I think this means it's good).
Compostable - We only do compostable as its the best solution for a single use packaging product, its made from plants and it can be used to grow more plants, its the best material for its use and it has the added benefit of being great for the planet.
- Compost holds 2.5 times more water than normal soil, so it can be used on flood plains to counteract flooding.
- Compost can eliminate the need for chemical fertilisers which is better for the whole eco system and it's nature way of re-balancing.
- Composting plant based packaging is completely circular, put simply - it comes from plants and can be used to grow more plants.
- Using compostable products eliminates the need to extract dead dinosaurs from the ground, the world needs to reduce our reliance on petrol, so this is a great place to start.
