Our Green Standards:  every product is reviewed and analyzed in respect to a product lifecycle view.  The four basic areas of our Basic Lifecycle Standards are;  1). Source Material, 2). Manufacturing, 3). Usage and 4). Disposal.  This approach provides a comprehensive perspective of a product.

Score: Additionally, we provide a numeric value assigned with each rating.  It will be displayed with the Basic Life Cycle Rating.  The Rating will range from 0 to 100; 0 being worst and 100 being the best.  The score is a simple arithmetic accumulation of the points assigned at each of the sub-elements that support the Basic Life Cycle described below.  

It is important to understand that we sell only Green and Eco-Friendly products.  As a result, any product that has a rating, is considered to be better than a traditional product by virtue of  being accepted into the BuyGreen Standards.  As a result, whether a products score is 99 meeting all four Lifecycle requirements, or a score of 10 and only one Lifecycle requirement, the product is none the less better than their traditional equivalents from a Green and Eco-Friendly perspective.

Green Standard Sub-elements:  each Basic Life Cycle Standard has sub-elements that comprise the overall evaluation for that Basic Life Cycle and the overall product.  Each sub element must generally meet and absolute threshold – is it applicable? – Yes or No.  If the answer is No, then generally speaking, no score is provided, and the product will not rate as high as another product that receives a Yes. If the product receives a Yes for the sub-element, then there is a simple qualitative measure applied that is both descriptive, and has a numeric value assigned to it.

The following is a descriptive analysis of both the Basic Life Cycle and their supporting sub-elements.

Detailed Review of Basic Lifecycle Standard and Sub-elements:

      Source Material – What is the product made from? 

General Overview: In general, this standard looks at the material(s) in the product in three distinct areas and quantifies the amount of the overall product.

a)     Toxins – Are there any Toxicants? This is a minimum standard.  If there is a prohibited toxicant that is present or exceeds our allowable dosages, then the product will Not be sold on BuyGreen.com   For a list of our prohibited Toxicants, please click here.

b)     Raw material – What is the product made from?  We look at three potential types of materials that make up each product and assign a percentage (%) to each area.

i)    Natural and Organic - is the content Natural?  This is intended to be broadly interpreted.   Is the content Organic?  Assuming that it meets this first requirement, to receive credit for this sub-category, it must also have organic content.  We look to the USDA and the Organic Consumer Association as benchmarks.

ii)    Sustainable - is the source material source from a sustainable environment?  For this element, there must be some percentage of sustainable content.

iii)   Recycled - how much of the content is made of recycled material?  We also ask as an additional qualifier, how much of the recycled material is Post-Consumer?  Each is measured as a %.

      Manufacturing – How is the product manufactured?

General Overview: In general, this standard looks at the manufacturing and delivery of the product and makes a comparison to a ‘general’ or ‘product/manufacturing type specific’ benchmark.  We rate the comparison to the benchmark as either Average – no difference, Good - better than the benchmark, or Bad – worse than the benchmark. 

a)   Animal Testing – is there any testing done on animals?  This is a minimum standard and is an absolute.  If it fails this sub-element, it will NOT be carried on BuyGreen.com 

b)   Resource Consumption – does the manufacturing process have an adverse impact on resources?  As it relates specifically to the overall manufacturing process, are additional resources required in the manufacturing process?  We rate it either Good, Average or Bad.

c)   Energy Consumption: – what is the energy impact to manufacturer and deliver the product?  We look at this from two perspectives, 1). Product Production and 2). Transportations and Shipping.  Each will get a rating of either Good, Average or Bad.

d)   Pollution: – what is the impact of manufacturing as it relates to polluting our environment?  We look at this from two perspectives, 1). Air and 2). Water.  Each will get a rating of either Good, Average or Bad.

e)  Packaging – how much packaging is used and what is the packaging made from? This sub-element will get a rating of either Good, Average or Bad.

f)  Company Evaluation – how does manufacturing company approach their 1). customers, 2). employees (including workers in their supply chain), 3). the environment, and 4). the communities in which they do businesses?  We look at each of these four elements individually for an overall score.  Combined, either the company rates well, or they do not.  We use additional resources and certifications in this evaluation such as the Co-Op America Seal.  This is a minimum standard.

      Usage – How is the product used and what is its contribution to the environment?

General Overview: In general, this Basic Lifecycle Standard looks at the product from a usage perspective and whether it has a positive impact on the environment. We look at four key areas.

a) Reduce or eliminate material consumption – does the usage of this product reduce or eliminate consumption of other materials?  This sub-element is for products that eliminate material consumption through its usage and we rate them as either Low, Medium or High.

b) Reduce or eliminate trash production  – does the usage of this product reduce or eliminate trash?  This sub-element is for products that eliminate trash through its usage and we rate them as either Low, Medium or High.

c) Reduce or eliminate toxicants in the environment – does the usage of this product reduce or eliminate toxicants?  This sub-element is for products that eliminate toxicants and we rate them as either Low, Medium or High.

d) Reduce or eliminate energy consumption – does the usage of this product reduce or eliminate energy consumption?  This sub-element is for products that reduce or eliminate energy consumption through its usage and we rate them as either Low, Medium or High.

      Disposal – How is it disposed of and what is the impact?

General Overview: In general, this Basic Lifecycle Standard looks at the product at the end of its usage and how it is disposed.  The sub-elements are pretty straight forward.

a)   Bio-degradable – does the product bio-degrade after it is disposed?  This sub-element is an absolute review.  Either it is or it is not.

b)   Recyclable – can this product be recycled?  This sub-element is two pronged, with an absolute Yes or No, and if yes a determination of how much of the product is recyclable.

This provides a basic overview of what we review and consider before we decide to sell a product on BuyGreen.com  Our hope is that is helpful to our customers in deciding what products they want to buy and the impact for each.  We hope it will incentives suppliers to continually look at their entire process, and make improvements to what they make and how they make it.

We certainly welcome questions and comments.  Please feel free to send those to standards@buygreen.com