Comments on: Win a set of organic towels from Dream Green Organics

By: Beth Terry

Beth Terry — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:44:31 +0000

Elysia, you could contact Laura at Dream Green to find out: http://www.dreamgreenorganics.com/contact-us/

By: Elysia

Elysia — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:51:18 +0000

I was wondering where could I purchase those shipping boxes?

By: laura

laura — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:00:00 +0000

A green business is one that follows the three pillars of sustainability in their decision making. Those pillars are: how does it effect the environment, my community/world community, and is it economically pheasible. In order to survice and thrive as well as continue to offer sevices that are needed and sustainable, the business must meet all three criteria. Many companies tout themselves as sustainable but fundamentally engage in commerce that ignores the the three pilars (monsanto). When I look at a company I try to determine if they are using this model of decision making. The easiest way to separate green washing from green living is to talk with the business owner, you can tell right away when someone is sincere and they walk the walk. I like to do business with people who share my values and value long term community participation. Green is a lifestyle not a bandwagon!

By: Erin

Erin — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 15:44:19 +0000

I think green business means small business. How can you expect a large company to take such care with packaging and its implications if it’s larger than this?

Brava on thoughtful packaging!

By: Yuki

Yuki — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:47:07 +0000

I think that for a business to be green they must meet great environental stardards in ALL fields possible. (Not only green products but green shipping or organic cotton grown in USA rather than China for example). They must show that they care and that they make efforts. They must listen to their consumers’ opinion to improve themselves.

i tend to know that there is greenwashing when all I see is big slogans with no meet behind. Like today I saw a “green” Neoprene who is supposedly 25% greener that normal Neoprene… Hey why would I buy something made out of that??? It’s complete nonsense! I can surely find what I need in REAL green material! I take great pleasure in looking for real green products and I don’t take what the company tells me for granted. I do researches and I send plenty of questions by email… I love internet for that! I really don’t know how I could have find all these great green ideas and products 15 years ago…

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:24:04 +0000

Laura, Thank you sooooo much for answering my question about fair trade practices. I look forward to buying from you soon (:

By: Erik Cooke

Erik Cooke — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:48:47 +0000

Thanks for taking the time to highlight businesses that are doing the right things. Green businesses are those that aren’t treating the earth and their customers in a zero-sum manner. Truly green businesses also educate customers and a broader public, and that push their competitors to do things more sustainably. Taking the time to cultivate a loyal following that agrees with you and keeps you accountable to sustainability. Not “creating” needs, like pop-tarts or go-gurt. Not relying on one-off interactions, but building relationships where both the producer and user consider themselves in a chain of interactions.

What I look for in green businesses are lack of artifice, straightforward packaging and explanations, and a clear sense of why their business/product is sustainable. Often, the affiliation labels like Tilth or fair-trade are helpful, but if the producer can’t clearly tell me why they are green, then I assume that they probably aren’t.

By: Anni Green

Anni Green — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:01:33 +0000

I think the first thing is to buy from companies that are not in the league of corporate giants.I look for smaller labels with more personalized details on their packaging and adds.I always look for a simple,uncomplicated list of ingredients and simple non-wasteful packaging.Sometimes if I have question I will check the policies and history of the company online and read consumer reviews.
It is obvious that Laura’s sheets and towels etc,are made and packaged with love.No corporation would add such sweet details to the packaging as she does!
.Corporate products have nothing to tell you because there is nothing there;empty!

By: Kay

Kay — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 06:54:05 +0000

To me, organic should be bond to fair. Unfortunately it’s not. This does work with most old organic companies and labels.. (got some insight through personal relations), but I don’t trust that with ‘supermarket-organic’ or major companies like Henkel or Nestlé.

There’s a big discussion going on around here: ‘real’ organic vs. ‘supermarket’ organic.
The EU-organic label has way lower requirements than the ‘old labels’. To me, the EU-label doesn’t require ‘true’ organic in many ways (like, food only has to be 95% organic – and I’m not talking salt or the likes) Funny, some organic foodstore-chains do sell them – most private stores have higher expectations of the stuff they sell (my store stopped selling Bionade, a ‘brewed’ organic lemonade because they now distrubute it with Coca-Cola).
One argument that always comes up is if it’s not better people buy ‘supermarket-organic’ than none at all. To be reasonable: yes, of course it’s better, even though it doesn’t pass my moral levels. Same goes for eco-cotton at H&M, eco-paint at the DIY superstore.. If it makes peoples think about they consumer-habits.. and the impact.. okay.

Sorry, I guess I kinda missed the point.

By: Elizabeth B

Elizabeth B — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 06:30:38 +0000

“Green business” means not catering to the basest instincts in CONSUMERS for single-use bullshit products, but rather inspiring CITIZENS to want your product because it satisfies a real need in a responsible way.

Yeah, and then I woke up. But I can dream, right?

As for judging whether a company is greenwashing, I Google them, read what folks have to say about them, look at certifcations and ingredients, and make the best call I can. EWG is helpful here; so is the Good Guide.