Should Eco-Labels Come from Government or Third Party Private Organizations?

http://www.triplepundit.com/2009/10/shoudl-eco-labels-be-government-based-or-third-party-private-organizations/comment-page-1/

This article discusses the current difficulty consumers face when deciphering which eco-labels are the best. According to ecolabbeling.org, there are currently around 300 eco-labels out there right now, and that number is on the rise. The author of the article discusses how he can only name around 20 or so off the top of his head, and he's a sustainability consultant and green business writer! There are too many eco-labels out there.

There needs to be a third party watching to make sure that these labels stay truthful to their claims if they are good, and to throw out the greenwashers if they are bad. Consumers are currently facing much confusion when buying products, and they are usually under/mis-informed about what they are even buying. They need to be educated about what actually is put into their products.

Footprint Re-evaluation

So far, I have been doing an alright job of cutting down on my poor consumption habits. I have been taking shorter showers than ever before, composting in my neighbors bin, and eating at home as much as possible. Cutting down on the amount of meat that I eat is still the hardest thing for me to do. I have been eating lunch meat on the regular in sandwiches since it is so convenient for a quick and tasty lunch. Because of this, my new goal will be to eat more PB&J sandwiches over the next month. I don't mind skipping on the meat during lunch time, and I find PB&J's to be good anyway. Also, I'm going to find healthier soaps and shampoos to use when I shower after looking at www.cosmeticsdatabase.com last week. Kinda scary stuff... I'll keep you posted on any good ones that I find!

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/product/2495/Barbasol_Beard_Buster_Thick_%26_Rich_Shaving_Cream%2C_Original/

I have chosen Barbasol “Beard Buster” Thick & Rich Shaving Cream to analyze on this assignment. The shaving cream contains water, stearic acid, triethanolamine, Isobutane, Laureth-23, Fragrance, Propane, and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate.

According to the cosmetic database, my shaving cream scored a 4 on the hazard score rating. This hazard score means that some of the ingredients in the shaving cream are known to be harmful on the websites databases. Ingredients in my product are linked to cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity, governmental violations &/or restrictions, Allergies/immunotoxicity, and other irritants or toxins.
Breakdown of Ingredients
FRAGRANCE: Neurotoxicity, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Miscellaneous
ISOBUTANE: Allergies/immunotoxicity, Multiple, additive exposure sources, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Contamination concerns
TRIETHANOLAMINE: Allergies/immunotoxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Contamination concerns
LAURETH-23: Neurotoxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Contamination concerns
PROPANE: Allergies/immunotoxicity, Multiple, additive exposure sources, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Occupational hazards
STEARIC ACID: Neurotoxicity, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE: Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
WATER: innocuous

Thankfully, I wasn’t able to find any of these ingredients in the OED book. The list in OED had substances that were both harmful to humans and our surrounding ecosystem. However, I feel that some of my ingredients are harmful to the ecosystem as well since they are strong enough to harm a human being. I feel bad now that every time I shave I am rinsing all of the toxins down the drain, where they could go out and harm our outside world. I will try my best to find a shaving cream that is all natural (I know they’re out there), which will lead to a healthier lifestyle for me and the environment.

Coca-Cola urges consumers to recycle....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/sep/21/green-marketing-lucy-barrett
and
http://www.carbonreductioncommitment.info/

This article discusses Coca-Cola's poor efforts to prepare for the UK's Carbon Reduction Commitment, a mandatory CO2 emission trading scheme imposed in April 2010. "The aim of the Carbon Reduction Commitment is to reduce the level of carbon emissions currently produced by the larger 'low energy-intensive' organisations by approximately 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2020. As a Climate Change Bill commiment, the scheme is aiming for a 60% redution in CO2 emissions by 2050."
Coca-Cola's effort to prepare for the CRC has been to tell consumers to recycle.. They launched a group called "Keep It Going - Recycle", in a seemingly last ditch effort to appear green. As stated in the article, Coke should be a leader on the green movement. They do have the ability to make a difference. They could focus on reducing their carbon footprint before reminding consumers to reduce theirs, let alone recycle. Coke has some work to do in the future if they want to be taken seriously as a company that cares.

I'm currently about a week in on reducing my ecological footprint. The hardest challenge so far is limiting the amount of food that I consume from restaurants. Three of my roommates work at restaurants around Bellingham, and they tend to bring home food for other roommates on the regular. However, I can't decide if this is a negative or positive impact on the environment. The food brought home is usually leftover soup and bread that would have been thrown out anyway, but it also regularly contains meat and is prepared in an environment that has a much larger ecological footprint than my house ever would. I've come across a pretty big dilemma. In the end, eating free and delicious food helps me save money that I would be spending on groceries anyway. It will be hard to pass up.