EcoLogo: When Politics and Money Get in the Way of Helping the
Environment
In the fight to preserve the
environment for future generations, one would think that honesty, integrity,
and responsibility would come before greed, money, and politics. Unfortunately
this isn’t always the case.
The US Federal Government pays lip
service to protecting the environment on one day, then promotes offshore
drilling and oil pipelines the next. Ultimately the highest paying lobbyists
are the ones making the decisions, not the voters.
Similarly EcoLogo, a company that
provides third-party certification of environmentally-preferable products, puts
a premium on profits above environmental standards. First, the costs of
certification are exorbitant, especially
for smaller companies. Initial verification for each product can cost
anywhere from $1,500 to $5,000, plus travel costs of the auditor, and then
another 0.5% of total product sales. Every subsequent product audited adds more
costs. In other words, to get all of a company’s products certified as
“environmentally-preferable” can cost tens of thousands of dollars initially,
plus thousands of dollars per year, every year in the future.
Although they do certify
biodegradability, there is no requirement that garbage bags or other
such products be biodegradable. Furthermore to receive the biodegradability
certification materials must only comply with the ASTM D6400 or EN 14995
instead of ensuring that they adhere to the stricter EN 13432 standards, which requires
a minimum of 90% biodegradability. Additionally they only require they contain
a minimum of 20% post-consumer (recycled) material in order to meet recycled
content claims.
It’s a shame that they chose a business
strategy that ends up earning more money rather than enforcing high standards.
EcoPoly is committing to creating the highest quality products and adhering to
the highest standards, regardless of the low standards put out by companies
like EcoLogo.
Contact us today and find
out how we can provide environmentally sound products of the highest standards for
your organization.
