"Green".
"Eco-friendly".
"Sustainable".
These are rapidly becoming among the most important marketing AdWords for everything from furniture to food to diapers.
They're important because companies and marketing professionals realize that consumers, particularly the more affluent consumers in industrialized countries, are demanding products and services that can be created, used or disposed of without degrading the environment.
An increasing number of consumers are even willing to pay more money to obtain environmentally-friendly goods.
So the market, as always, is following the money.
But can a consumer know which products are really environmentally benign (or as benign as technology will allow), and which are simply objects of marketing hype? The answer is "Yes" - but a qualified "Yes".
There are many factors to consider when trying to decide if a good or service is truly friendly to the environment.
First is the matter of definitions.
Just what do the words "green", "eco-friendly" and "sustainable", etc.
, really mean? Honestly, they mean just about whatever the person using them wants them to mean! A perfect example is the word "natural".
It's a very fuzzy concept that has evaded legal standardization for at least two decades.
A poultry company that keeps its birds confined to tiny battery cages and feeds them a evolutionarily incorrect diet including animal waste and antibiotics, is perfectly within its legal right to claim that the resulting meat is "natural".
Some consumers don't agree, but some do.
In this case, "natural" may mean such diverse things as "being raised in a situation that mimics the birds' ancestral environment", to "not being made partially from soy or contaminated with other ingredients".
Regulators have nothing to say about this.
It's up to the consumer to choose a definition and decide if the product meets that definition or not.
The bottom line is that the words with which a product is labeled have little inherent meaning.
Knowing what a product actually does or does not do, requires more digging into to the operations and philosophy of the producer.
One helpful, although not infallible, way to help determine whether a product meets one's personal guidelines for being "green", is whether the product is certified by an independent (non-governmental) certifying agency.
There are certifying agencies for many, but by no means all, types of raw and finished products, including paper, lumber, personal care items, some textiles, and food.
To find out whether certification provides the standards you are looking for, go to the certifier's web site, or contact them directly and inquire about their standards.
Most want to be known and respected by consumers, so they're more than willing to let the public know what they do and how they do it.
A few, such as Oregon Tilth, even publish free newspapers or leaflets that discuss their trade issues and make insider information available to the public.
Another way to determine whether a product suits your eco- sensibilities is to read the literature or visit the web site provided by the producing company.
Do they answer the questions you consider important? Are the answers satisfactory? If not, why not? A lack of information can be as telling as any information given.
If you're still not sure, a good next step is to approach a couple of environmental organizations that deal with the type of product you're investigating, and with whose philosophies you agree.
Ask their opinion of the product and producing company.
Re-consider the product in light of all the information gathered, and you should be able to make a determination as to whether or not it meets your criteria for being environmentally responsible.
Remember that environmental responsibility is a relatively new and evolving concept.
It's an idea which has only recently been embraced economically by large numbers of consumers.
Therefore, many companies may have only a handful of "green" items out of hundreds of products.
Can a product be "green" if the company, overall, is not? That's a matter of personal judgment.
Some consumers say no, but others embrace the idea of buying from a company that's testing the waters, to give them an incentive to go further.
The reality is that very few, if any, companies can be perfect in everything - having only the least impactful ingredients, all local sourcing, the most efficient processing and shipping methods, non-wasteful packaging, etc.
, etc.
, etc.
, - especially when technology is always changing and improving.
Therefore, you, the consumer, must prioritize your concerns.
To make matters more confusing, sometimes "green" technology comes out with "miracle" items (such as corn plastic) that turn out to have hidden costs.
Oops! So what's a consumer to do? The best first step is to get rid of non-productive anxiety by acknowledging that there is no one "right" answer.
Every choice has some pros and some cons.
Make a list of personal priorities, and consider them in light of the issues of affordability and availability.
Then realize that cost, emerging issues, competition, and new knowledge will shape and re-shape what defines "eco-friendly" over time.
So stay flexible! The things that are important today may be only secondary tomorrow, or vice versa.
Remain open to new information, keep doing your homework, and let your own ethics be your guide.
And remember - you don't have to be perfect.
You can't be.
Just do the very best you can in a highly imperfect world.
Mother (Earth) will appreciate your efforts.