Why Buy Recycled Paper and Tree-free Paper ?

Image by London Permaculture via FlickrWhy Buy Recycled Paper and Tree-free Paper?

You may wonder, "Why buy recycled paper and tree-free paper?" According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), making paper from recycled materials produces 74 percent less air pollution and 35 percent less water pollution. When you ask yourself, "Why buy recycled paper and tree-free paper?" it's important to realize that using recycled paper helps save valuable natural resources in our forests and reduces the paper waste filling up our already over crowed landfills.

Why buy recycled paper and tree-free paper? Because recycled and tree-free paper work just as well as virgin paper. They’re used in many homes and offices for printing, faxing, copying and other administrative duties. In order for paper to be considered recycled, the government currently requires that it contain at least 30 percent recycled material.

The Benefits of Recycled and Tree-free Paper

When consumers use 100 percent recycled paper, they automatically use less chlorine. Chlorine produces Dioxin, a dangerous chemical that studies show can lead to cancer in people and wildlife. Why buy recycled paper and tree-free paper? Because they can lead to a healthier environment for everyone.

Tree-free Paper Alternatives

The production of tree-free paper is another step toward decreasing deforestation. Tree-free paper is not made from tree fiber. Plant fibers derived from hemp, kenaf, cotton, sugarcane, flax and many other easy to grow agricultural plants may be used instead of trees. Right now tree-free paper is considered the most environmentally friendly paper available.

Reduced Chemicals Mean Reduced Pollutants

Why buy recycled paper and tree-free paper? Since products made from tree-free paper can be made from other plant sources instead of trees, fewer chemical are needed to break down and separate the paper fibers from the plant. They are usually chlorine-free, and some brands are even pesticide-free. Fewer industrial chemicals mean a cleaner environment. Trees can take anywhere from seven to 20 years to grow while it only takes about 10 weeks to grow the plants needed for tree-free paper.

Why Buy Recycled paper and tree-free paper? Environmental Solutions

So when you ask, "Why buy recycled paper and tree-free paper?" One answer to consider is the fact that it significantly cuts down on the depletion of our natural resources and contributing to overfilled landfills, and environmental pollution. Buying recycled and tree-free paper is a big step in the right direction.

The Oshara Model, Sustainability fo Mainstream America

Learn about a sustainable village in Santa Fe, New Mexico, featuring mixed-use design, walkability, solar energy, super insulation, energy efficiency, and100% water reclamation. Oshara Village is the embodiment of the President Obama's goals for the future of America.

Organic Food for the Curious

Image via WikipediaVic Errington

Are you wondering what all the hype is about organic food? Do you actually know what it is? If you are interested in going organic, or just plain curious then read on...

The organic food industry has seen tremendous growth within recent years. Increased demand has led to increased production, creating a need for general standards and a legal definition of organic food.

Most countries have adopted their own laws and standards for uniformity within organic production and processing. This eliminates confusion while protecting consumers and manufacturers.

Organic Food Definition

Under most circumstances, organic foods are those grown without the use of synthetic (and often toxic) chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers and other inputs. Livestock intended for domestic consumption is not given hormone injections (artificial growth), and is not given antibiotics as routine. Processing is also a chemical-free procedure.

Organic foods are produced and processed using techniques that benefit the whole environment; soil, water, air, animals and humans.

The Origin of Organic

The organic food market was around long before a legal definition of organic existed. Natural, chemical-free cultivation has been common practice for centuries among small farms. Before the recent increase in demand for organic products, local farms and markets were the only source for fresh organic food.

Today organic standards and certification laws regulate the market, ensuring consumers a product that is truly organic, but there are still many small farms that use strictly organic growing methods without certification. Not all organic farms can afford the costs of certification, meaning their foods will not bear the organic label although produced to the same standards.

What Foods are Organic?

When you think of organic food, fruits and vegetables are the items that typically come to mind. Now, there is much greater variety in the organic market. There are organic options for almost everything today! Organic meats; organic dairy products; organic grains for pasta and cereal; you can even find organic desserts, chocolate, beers and wines.

What is Certified Organic?

In most countries, foods grown and processed according to the set standards and regulations can apply for organic certification. The application process is quite costly and time-consuming. Certified organic farms must present reports regarding the land use for both the past and the future. Stringent records must be kept and annual on-site inspections are carried out to ensure quality and authenticity.

The organic label can only be displayed by manufacturers or growers that have passed government certification. This protects consumers as well as producers by creating expectations for any product considered organic.

The main certification body in the UK is the Soil Association. In the US it is the USDA.

What is Organic Farming and Production?

Organic standards and regulations govern all aspects of organic production, including both crops and livestock. The key to successful organic production is to use as few non-renewable resources as possible whilst promoting healthful practices for wildlife, soil, water, and air.

Organic farming involves synthetic chemical-free growing techniques using organic seeds. Crops are farmed without irradiation or the use of genetic modification. Organic foods enjoy chemical-free processing as well, without artificial (synthetic) additives, preservatives, or other ingredients.

In addition to freedom from the use of hormones and antibiotics mentioned above, animals reared for organic food production enjoy open spaces, spacious shelter and an organic diet. Consequently meat and dairy are free of synthetic chemical residues.

Organic food is a new term for natural products that have been around for centuries. Recent advancements in the organic market have brought global attention to the benefits of an organic diet, proven by research, and the laws put in place by most governments ensure consumers are getting a true organic product.

Ethics in the Workplace

Image by Freyja* via FlickrNatalie Rhoden

We’ve all heard these rules to live by: Don’t hurt, don’t steal, don’t lie, and the more famous “Do unto others as you would have done to you.” In our personal lives most people try to follow these rules. Ethics are often thought of by many as something that is related to the personal side of life and not to the business side. In some businesses, having ethics may actually be frowned upon. This is usually due to the fact that business is about doing what’s best for the bottom line and not always about doing the right thing.

It is commonly understood that there are ethics and then there are workplace ethics. Often we don’t stop to realize that there is no difference between personal ethics and ethics in the workplace; ethics are the same whether at work or in personal life.

After all, ethics are about making choices that may not always feel good or seem like they benefit you. Ethical choices are the “right” choices to make and are examples of rules to live by.

Practical Impact

Executives typically want the answers to two key questions about ethics in their offices: “How do workplace ethics apply to practical goals of my organization and the work of my employees?” and “Is there reliable data to support these assertions?” The Ethics Resource Center (www.ethics.org), a nonprofit organization, assists leaders to impact their organizations by identifying ethical risks and establishing systems to emphasize higher standards for business conduct.

The Ethics Resource Center annually conducts a National Business Ethics Survey (NBES) – a rigorous telephone survey of 1,500 U.S. employees. The NBES findings are encouraging for organizations that have an emphasis on positive workplace ethics. For example, employees have high expectations for ethics within their organizations. Nine in ten respondents say that they “expect their organizations to do what is right, not just what is profitable.”

This suggests that most employees are not cynical about ethics at work, encouraging news when considering the implementation or development of ethics initiatives as the long term success of any program rely on the active support of employees.

Formal ethics programs and informal ethics practices were shown to affect certain key outcomes. Employees who work in companies with active ethics programs who observe leaders modeling ethical behavior, and also observe the application of values such as honesty, respect and trust applied frequently at work, report more positive experiences that include the following:

· Less pressure on employees to compromise ethics standards

· Less observed misconduct at work

· Greater willingness to report misconduct

· Greater satisfaction with their organization’s response to misconduct they report

· Greater overall satisfaction with their organizations

· Greater likelihood of “feeling valued” by their organizations

Findings of Concern

The NBES uncovered a substantial gap between senior and middle managers and lower-level employees. A consistent finding with management was the perception that their organizations have a positive ethical environment. This conflicts with the perception of lower-level employees however. This suggests that executives may underestimate the importance of specific ethics issues and concerns facing employees.

This disconnect may also position executives to fail to address these issues adequately within their organization’s ethics programs. Therefore it is important for executives to include input from employees at lower levels in the development of ethics programs and to continue to seek out their input and feedback on a regular basis.

In addition to the communications gap between employees and executives, one in three employees believe that their coworkers will perceive them as “snitches” if they report misconduct. This is roughly the same proportion of employees who believe that management will see them as “troublemakers” for reporting ethical concerns. A key element to take away from this discovery is the need to address and eliminate retaliation systemically, at the management and peer levels throughout the organization.

Questions Answered

Let’s go back to our two key questions: “How do workplace ethics apply to practical goals of my organization and the work of my employees?” and “Is there reliable data to support these assertions?” There are a variety of practical reasons for executives to focus on workplace ethics and reliable data that supports these efforts. The NBES findings consistently link ethics programs to more positive organizations outcomes and increased employee satisfaction.

It would be naïve to suggest that an emphasis on ethics will improve the work environment and solve the company’s problems overnight. In many cases a well developed and organized effort to target key ethical issues sends an important message. It tells employees that your organization is moving in a positive direction, one that is positive for them as individuals.

Establishing an Ethics Program

Establishing an ethics program is not an exact science. As with any organizational program, it will involve the input and cooperation of many people. The effectiveness of any organization’s approach will depend on characteristics that are unique to its culture, the leadership styles, proper planning, and so on. Since some people may be uncomfortable talking about the issues of ethics it can be helpful if management first asks, considers, and then responds to the following questions:

· Why might good people in this organization do unethical things?

· What are our organization’s values?

· Have we adequately articulated these values internally and externally?

· Does our organization have written ethics policies, procedures, or structures?

· To whom is our organization accountable?

· What do we mean by “success”?

· Does the leadership of our organization support the idea of an ethical workplace?

With the feedback obtained by discussing the questions above, management will have a better idea of the perceptions their employees have on how the company is performing ethically.

In the end, it’s all about beginning with our personal and collective understanding of ethics. The second step is awareness of, and solutions to, questions concerning ethics as applied to the workplace. Many universities are now heavily applying the teaching of ethics to their curricula. Graduates of these programs take this information into the workforce with the understanding that solid, positive ethics need to be applied there as well as in the private sector.

In a perfect world, corporations will be better able to avoid embarrassing scandals that appear and reappear in both national and world-wide news scandals. Small businesses will be able to keep and attract more clients and customers. Negotiations between businesses could be accomplished with increased consideration for the other company. This is something for which we can all strive.

Recycled Wood for a Greener Environment

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeSmit Mathur

Recycling, a process of converting scrap into reusable form has been term long associated with electronic, chemical, glass and textile items but recently. Recycled wood is the latest popular word among the responsible citizens who care for the environment and the future. The concept of recycled wood is becoming popular because of its environment friendly aspect. Apparently, reusing wood will lessen the demand for green wood and thereby save a lot of trees.

So how is the wood recycled? Mostly demolishers of old buildings and bridges carefully strip out the wood used in the structures before demolition. This salvaged wood is sold to the merchants, who then re-mill the wood by manually scanning it with a metal detector. This allows them to denial the entire piece of wood. This recycled wood or recycled timber is then often sold to the consumer as recycled flooring, beams and decking.

However, the use of recycled wood doesn’t only stay limited to the construction aspect of a human living. Recycled wood furniture is becoming quite popular among the homemakers these days. Not only because the Recycled Furniture is environment friendly, but also because it is rather affordable. People are fast doing away with the stigma of second hand stores and looking towards recycled furniture for home decorations. To suit their personalities, they get the furniture coated with trendy colors.

Another use of recycled wood comes across when you plan to pick up windows for your home. Though glass windows cannot be recycled commercially, people are using recycled windows to build up complete news structures in their backyard. A greenhouse or a sun house made from recycled windows can not only give a new dimension to your home but also save a large part of your budget, you thought of spending on new construction materials.

With the increase in consciousness among the consumers, the producers are also gradually becoming innovative in the use of recycled wood. Woods are now not only recycled but are made water resistant, termite resistant before they are sent in to the market. Home decorators are now suggesting use of recycled wood in making balconies, court yards and garden paving.

Before purchasing the wood, you can always ask the supplier about the origin of the wood. Some suppliers may fail to answer the proper source from where the wood came from; in that case you can consider a different supplier. Breathing becomes much easier in your home when you know that you have saved a tree and contributed towards building a greener environment for the future generation.

The Definition of Socially Responsible Investing

Many authors describe Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) as an investment philosophy that includes non-financial, ethical (e.g., social and environmental) objectives. In the words of Richard Hudson (2005), Socially Responsible Investing is a "non-financial normative criteria...in the choice of securities". Mansley (2000) has described it as a process within the context of financial analysis, which takes into account social, environmental and ethical consequences when selecting, retaining, or realizing investments. Notably, Waddock (2003) portrays SRI as a community that encompasses a wide range of individuals and groups interested in criteria other than just return on investment.

However, it is hard to construct a proper definition without referring to Cowton's (1994) precise and comprehensive attempt which may be easily accepted as a standard definition of responsible investing. Taking the terms "ethical" and "socially responsible" to be equivalent, Cowton stated that:

"Ethical investment may be defined as the exercise of ethical and social criteria in the selection and management of investment portfolios, generally consisting of company shares (stocks). This contrasts with standard depictions of investment decision-making in finance textbooks, which concentrate solely on financial return in the form of dividends and capital gains, and risk..." (Cowton 1994).

The quality of Cowton's (1994) definition lies in confronting a conventional investment decision-making process with the one applied in Socially Responsible Investing. Cowton develops his definition even further by including sources of financial returns from investments to be the basis for concerns of ethical investors. Similarly, Social Investment Forum (2003) refers to such type of investing as a process that focuses on non-financial consequences of investments. However, by designating sources of financial returns as important factors, Cowton clearly demonstrates that SRI is not only about avoiding certain activities and consequences, but much more. Based on this assertion, Sparkes (2002) suggests that Socially Responsible Investing should be an investment philosophy that combines financial and non-financial criteria.

In order to understand the meaning behind the concept of Socially Responsible Investing more fully, it is recommended that one should also get acquainted with the goals of SRI, its historical development and the potential difference between ethical investing and socially responsible investing.

http://www.responsibleinvesting.info

ResponsibleInvesting.info is an information channel devoted to promoting and supporting Socially Responsible Investing. Through its articles, site offers key information about Ethical Investing and its methods. It aims to contribute toward Ethical Investment becoming a mainstream. Learn about the concept of Socially Responsible Investment, its historical development and current investing strategies.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Davor_Miskovic

What is Ethical Shopping?

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But you can by shopping in an Ethical way. Put simply, this is buying things that are made ethically by companies that act ethically. Buying ethically means buying a brand or from a company which doesn’t exploit labour, animals or the environment. The way in which you can act as an 'ethical consumer' can also take on a different form and that is avoiding products (also known as boycotting) you disapprove of such as battery eggs.

GuideMeGreen acts as an internet guide as opposed to the numerous paper publications, showing you which brands and companies are classed as ethical. For more indepth information see the Good Shopping Guide or the Ethical Consumer magazine.

Why buy ethically?

Everyone needs to go shopping in one way or another. As an ethical consumer, every time you buy something you can make a difference by choosing an ethical product or by buying from an ethical business.

For example, when you buy from a company that doesn’t exploit its workers and provides them with decent working conditions, you are giving the company the funds to continue its ethical behaviour. At the same time, you are no longer buying from a company that exploits its labour with poor pay and often a dangerous working environment. That company then loses business, which may encourage it to change its ways and to look after its workers.

Marks and Spencers the huge retail chain in the UK recently ran an ethical products campaign and said that this was its most successful ever. Many of the big retail companies are now seeing the benefits of offering a range of ethical goods for sale including ethical trainers, ethical shoes and t-shirts.

How do I know it’s ethical?

In general consumers must have confidence that any ethical claims that a brand may make conform to certain standards which are independently accredited. Organisations such as the Good Shopping Guide and Ethical Consumer provide an ethical analysis of everyday brands and the companies behind them. The Ethical Marketing group publishes the Good Shopping Guide, updated annually, grading hundreds of companies according to their policies on 15 ethical issues.

Working to promote ethical shopping, The Ethical Company Organisation enables consumers to easily compare the Corporate Social Responsibility records of hundreds of companies and brands.
The Ethical Company Organisation's Research Department monitors the ethical records of hundreds of different companies across 15 criteria including environmental records, human rights, animal welfare and involvement in the arms trade. This involves working with hundreds of ethical consumers, progressive companies and NGOs on a range of research and publishing programmes.

For example, next time you are buying clothes, the good shopping guide recommends that you buy from HUG and avoid Nike.

Davinos Greeno works for the ethical directory Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Davinos_Greeno