Green Living

Here’s part one of our decoding green labels series, Market & Makeover, in case you missed it.

We’re back at it again to help demystify the labels gracing more and more products we conscious consumers bring into our homes. Here are some stickers to look for, and what they signify.

FSC–FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL CERTIFIED.  If you buy something made of wood (aka furniture) or a wood product (aka paper), look for the FSC label and know it comes from forests managed responsibly.  Since 1993, this independent nonprofit has ensured buyers that if something’s got its seal, then the materials to make it preserved natural forests and habitats, shunned hazardous pesticides and GMOs and protected the rights of indigenous people. All that with just a green sticker! (One more thing on paper, if your package doesn’t have the FSC label, look for 100% recycled and the highest portion of post-consumer waste you can find—that means it’s made from stuff we the people recycled.)

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ENERGY STAR. For new appliances (including lighting, electronics, heating and cooling and the like), government-backed Energy Star is stellar. So if you need a new washing machine, for example, getting one slapped with this label means you get an energy-efficient version that will save electricity, water and cash on your monthly utility bills. Same goes for TVs and fridges (the fridge often being our electricity-hungriest appliance). New homes can even earn an energy star if they’re 15-30% more streamlined than your average model. (You can take a pledge on its website to help fight global warming in your current home or apartment too.)

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GREEN SEAL. A Green Seal means that a household product like a cleaner, paint or floor finish is made with non-toxic and low impact ingredients. According to Rodale, it’s the “most rigorous certification program for household cleaning products,” and because of that you don’t see it much. In fact, I opt for making my own cleaners (or could buy from a trusted brand like Seventh Generation or another all-natural company with cred). Green Seal is also working on an eco-lodging program in Chicago and here in L.A. (Or see three of the hotels that have already gone green in Los Angeles.)

CRADLE TO CRADLE. You’ve read the book and now you can buy the products that carry this crème de la crème seal. Instead of cradle to grave, these products are striving to create a closed loop system where no waste is created, their materials able to be reused or recycled in the end. If an item has the c2c label on it, that means that MBDC (for the authors William McDonough and Michael Braungart) says it meets strict standards of human and environmental health and sustainability in its design and manufacturing processes. The ever-fabulous Herman Miller chairs Cradle-to-Cradle-Certification have this serious eco-label.

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In the future, you can look for L.E.A.F. (Labeling Ecologically Approved Fabrics) Certification for textiles and clothing to reveal the real deal of their environmental and social trustiness.

More resources:

At Consumer Reports’ Greener Choices site, search for a product or its green seal to find out the full scoop.

Ecolabelling.org has a whole slew of labels in an easy to see and read format.

And now you’re ready for the green labels quiz from Planet Green.

Tags: cradle to cradle, eco-labels, Energy Star, environmental certification, forest stewardship council, fsc, green certification, green labels, Green Living, green seal