Going Green Terms

Terms used by environmentally friendly businesses

A general understanding of the terminology used by environmentally friendly or "Green" businesses can go a long way, so we've provided the descriptions commonly used with environmentallly friendly products.

ALTERNATIVE FABRICSFibers that are produced from unconventional substances, often in an effort to find sustainable and/or organic substitutes for cotton, wool, linen, etc. Examples include hemp, bamboo and soy. (GearTrends, www.geartrends.com)

BAMBOONatural, renewable and growing in abundance without the use of chemicals, this plant can be made into clothing and home furnishing items such as flooring. It is breathable and naturally anti-bacterial. (Green Living Online, www.greenlivingonline.com)

CARBON OFFSETTINGThe process by which an individual or business purchases units of carbon to counteract the amount expended for industrial use or everyday life. (Carbonfund.org, www.carbonfund.org)

CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITYImplementation of strategies that meet business needs while concurrently seeking to protect, support, conserve and enhance the human and natural resources needed in the future.

COTTON (ORGANIC)Organic cotton is the versions on its conventional counterpart grown without pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, chemical fertilizers or any other chemicals that harm the environment.

DYESFor the environmentally conscious, the issue with conventional apparel-dyeing practices has to do with resulting water contamination. The runoff of the often petroleum-based dyes can find its way into the water supply. A fiber-reactive dyeing process (the color chemically bonds to cloth fibers) uses less water, which gives it a "low-impact" designation, however, these dyes also can be petroleum-based. (Blue Egg, www.blueegg.com)

EARTH DAYis April 22 every year ...check out the website for details www.earthday.net

ECO-FRIENDLYAlso, environmentally friendly. This term has come to refer to products deemed less harmful to the environment or produced in a manner that has limited impact on the ecosystem. There are no standards or regulations regarding the use of this term, it does not mean something is organic, natural or even that it is in any way less damaging than something not labeled "eco-friendly." (Consumer Reports Greener Choices Eco-Label Center, www.greenerchoices.org/home.cfm)

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTa measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystem and natural resources. It compares human consumption of natural resources with plant Earth's ecological capacity to regenerate them.

FAIR TRADEA label that means the item, or the components that make up the item, come from a developing country where farmers are paid higher-than-average wages, educated in sustainable agriculture and growing products that typically are organic. (Organic.org, www.organic.org)

GREENApparel with this designation has not been exposed to bleaching, chemical dyes or sizing agents. It is not a legal term and does not guarantee organic standards were followed at the farming level or that the item was not exposed to pesticides. (Organic Consumers Association, www.organicconsumers.org)

HEMPAn alternative fabric that is both bacteria-resistant and insulating. It is considered to be one of the stronger natural fibers and requires considerably less water to grow than cotton. (GearTrends, www.geartrends.com)

INGEOCreated by the Cargill Dow Corporation, it is a fiber that comes from corn which is then processed into plant sugars. The resulting fabric is biodegradable, naturally wicks moisture and is said to be a potential replacement for performance synthetics. (GearTrends, www.geartrends.com; Blue Egg, www.blueegg.com; Ingeo, www.ingeofibers.com)

JUTEA vegetable fiber that can be spun into long, coarse threads and woven into such items as accessories, rugs and even clothing. It is 100 percent biodegradable and recyclable. (Sierra Trading Post, www.organicexchange.org)

KYOTO PROTOCOLA consensus from the 1997 Third Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in which signatories agreed to a specific reduction in greenhouse gases by target dates between 2008 and 2012. The U.S. pulled out of the agreement in 2001. (Blue Egg, www.blueegg.com)

LOW-IMPACT LIVINGHabits and practices that lessen the amount of irrevocable damage humans and big business do to the earth. (Low Impact Living, www.lowimpactliving.com)

MODALCrafted from beechwood cellulose, it is an alternative fabric that is more water absorbent than cotton; is extremely soft; and has been used in clothing, outerwear and bed linens. (Sierra Trading Post, www.sierratradingpost.com)

NATURALAnything that comes from the earth. However, although wool comes from sheep, and is therefore a "natural product," this does not imply that it is organic in any way. (Organic Consumers Association, www.organicconsumers.org)

ORGANICIn terms of agriculture, it means growing crops in such a way that ecological harmony and balance is achieved, i.e., using crop rotation, cover cropping and other practices that promote soil fertility. It also implies crops are produced without the use of pesticides and commercial fertilizers. Food items marked "organic" yield to standards set forth by the Organic Foods Production Act and the cultivation of fabrics such as wool, must adhere to organic livestock production guidelines. (Organic Trade Association, www.ota.com; National Organic Standards Board, www.ams.usda.gov/nosb)

PRE- AND POST-CONSUMER RECYCLEDThese terms are used to describe material that is either recycled after a person has used it for its primary purpose (post-consumer) or items leftover from the manufacturing process that are reused, rather than discarded (i.e. clothing or paper scraps). (Earth 911, www.earth911.org)

QUALITY ASSURANCE INTERNATIONALAn independent, third-party association that works to ensure organic products were grown, manufactured and processed correctly and with integrity. (QAI, www.qai-inc.com)

RECYELCED POLYESTERUsing recycled polyester fabric reduces a significant amount of plastic that is otherwise buried in landfills. Recycled polyester fabrics are continuously recyclable and the quality is as stable as the original products.

RENEWABLE RESOURCESUnlike fossil fuels, which will diminish over time, renewable resources naturally replenish themselves nearly as quickly as they are consumed. Solar and wind power are two examples. (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, www.nrel.gov)

SOBYBEAN PROTEINSoy known as "vegetable cashmere" due to its luxurious and soft feel. The moisture absorption of soybean fiber is similar to cotton, but is ventilation is superior. Durable and strong, soy fibers' breaking strength is about 3 times of wool.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTUREAccording to the Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990, sustainable agriculture refers to any plant or animal production practice that will meet human needs, protect ecosystems and biodiversity, maximize use of nonrenewable resources, and generally function so as to remain in continuous production for the foreseeable future. (USDA: Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, www.nal.usda.gov)

TURKEYThe number-one supplying country for organic cotton. (Organic Exchange, www.organicexchange.org)

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUREA government organization that provides leadership, science and public policy on issues of agriculture, food production and natural resources. (USDA, www.usda.gov)

VERMICOMPOSTINGA soil-fertilization process that depends on worms. They feed on decomposting materials and the breakdown of organic matter creates a nutrient-rich soil conditioner. (Earth 911, www.earth911.org)

WOOL (ECO WOOL)Certified organic wool is gathered from sheep that have been treated humanely, fed organic feed and are grazed on land that has been farmed in a sustainable manner. (GearTrends, www.geartrends.com)

XERISCAPEA type of landscaping that relies on the positioning of drought-resistant vegetation in more arid areas to reduce the amount of water used to cultivate plantlife. (Blue Egg, www.blueegg.com)

YEARSThe process for a farmer to convert to organic cotton production from conventional practices takes three years. During this time, the farmer begins complying to organic growing procedures (using no chemicals) and is supervised by a certifying body. (Organic Exchange, www.organicexchange.org)

ZONINGA system of partitioning land for use. In the case of sustainable agriculture, this can be based on soil constitution, and done in such a way that it promotes conservation. (Natural Resources Defense Council, www.nrdc.org)