When you buy recycled content and other environmentally friendly products, you help reduce waste by creating a market for our recycled materials. You also help create jobs in businesses that handle and use recycle materials. Purchasing green products is like casting a vote. Requesting more sustainable products in the market place tells manufactures that consumers care about the way products are made. Many people become good environmental stewards through recycling efforts, and have joined the campaign by participating at home and at work. But, to complete the full circle, you have to start purchasing products that are made of the materials we recycle.
Below are some symbols you can look for when you are shopping at your local grocery, hardware, and multipurpose stores. But don’t just rely on symbols. Read the labels like you would for nutritional information, and make sure you getting exactly what you are looking for in your purchases. If you have trouble finding recycled content products or other environmentally friendly products such as Energy Star electronics and non-hazardous cleaners, consider filling out this comment card and dropping it into the customer comment boxes where you shop. Most local stores are happy to provide products that their customers are looking for. They may just not be aware that these products are available, or that it will help their company be more environmentally conscious by offering them on their shelves. Businesses need to know what is important to their customers, so help keep them informed.
Green Seal's mission is to encourage and assist individuals and corporations in protecting the environment by identifying those products that are less harmful to the planet than other similar products. When enough people choose products bearing the Green Seal, manufacturers will increasingly alter their product lines to meet this consumer demand for environmentally preferable products.
