 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Philosophy
Green Business
The New Urban Home is not just a home, it is an entire set of lifestyle choices. One important choice you make everyday is where you take your business. It is important to think more globally about this issue, because everytime you spend your money you are choosing to support or reject a business. Obviously, the preservation of resources is important to you. Therefore, you’ll pay attention to two things when you decide where to take your business. Firstly, no matter where you shop look for recycled and recyclable products. Even major big-box retailers like Target (look for Method home cleaning products), Office Depot (recycled and vegetable dyed papers), and Safeway (we like organic produce and biodegradable trash bags) have solutions for your ecologically minded lifestyle. More importantly, though, is trying to find a retailer or supplier that speaks to the overall lifestyle of sustainability. This means more than carrying products that are recycled and recyclable. A so-called 'Green Business' is one whose products and practices uphold environmental responsibility across the gamut. These businesses find ways to lower their emission, energy and water usage, they manage their waste and pollutants in safe and/or recyclable ways and, in some cases, they find new ways to do business in the case of notoriously unsustainable industries. An illustrative example is Tulip Graphics of Berkeley, California. The professional printing industry is problematic ecologically for a variety of reasons. Firstly, their reliance on paper products can mean exacerbating already severe deforestation. Next, the inks typically used in industrial printing can create harmful emissions and do not degrade when released into the watershed. Standard inks are problematic too for those whose job forces them to maintain contact with the inks. Finally, printing machines usually use film during the prepress process, which has many associated environmental toxins. Tulip Graphics has found ways to combat all of these issues while providing a superior product. They use New Leaf Paper, which is composed of very high post-consumer content and whitened without the use of chlorine bleaches. Meanwhile, this paper is high quality, comes in a variety of weights and sheens, and all virgin material is sustainably harvested. By using state-of-the-art printers and inks, Tulip is able to avoid all of the nasty compounds that make this industry so ecologically volatile. For example, their printer does not use film, so it streamlines the process while greening it. Finally, Tulip Graphics is the printer of GreenerPrinters.com, a sub-sect of GreenBiz.com, providing affordably priced printing services to a nation-wide market, giving you no excuse to take your business to an unsustainable printer.
Your city should have a directory of certified green businesses. Try your city government’s website for starters, or try any of these websites: GreenBiz.com: find green businesses, job openings at green businesses, and a wealth of articles on related topics.
National Green Pages: brought to you by Co-op America, this site features the most complete and user-friendly green business search engine. SustainableBusiness.com: search their nationwide green business directory or find your dream green job |
Entries
Evolution of the American Home Gasoline Ecology and the New Urban Home |