All Posts Tagged With: "recycled"

7 Questions to Ask When Considering Purchasing a Product or Material for Your Business:

1. Apply life-cycle thinking. This includes:

a. Does the product contain toxic materials?
b. Where do the raw materials come from and where is the product manufactured?
c. How much energy is used to extract and ship components or parts of a product?
d. How much energy, water and resources are used to create and package the product?
e. How can it be disposed of or recycled at the end of its useful life?
f. Are there any environmental or health impacts of its use?

2. Do you even need to purchase the product new? Sometimes a used item is just as good.

3. Exactly how much of it do you need? Don’t buy more than you need; this wastes money and resources.

4. What type of packaging does it come with? Environmentally-conscious companies are doing all sorts of creative things to green their packaging. This addresses the materials that packaging is made from, as well as the amount of it.

5. Is the product well-designed for its intended purpose? Often, cheaply made goods fall apart and are thrown away within 3 months of purchase.

6. Does the use of this product require special ventilation? If so, don’t buy it! There are plenty of alternatives for low- and no-VOC cleaning products, paints, and adhesives.

7. Depending on how far you want to take it, ask about labor practices. Does the manufacturer pay a living wage, do they give their employees benefits, do they have a diverse workforce? Do they contribute to their community? The social aspects of sustainability / green are sometimes overlooked, but have huge potential payoffs.

7 Tips:

1. Look for locally-produced and sourced products. This helps support your local economy, and reduces transportation-related environmental costs. Continued

A couple of years ago, I worked for a Poster Restoration Company and walked passed this impressive fence design every day. I knew nothing of its creator, but could tell that the posts are made from chunks of salvaged concrete. Natural builders have coined the name "urbanite" for this repurposed concrete material. (Yes — that’s "urbanite" — same name as our beloved local magazine !) I was particularly impressed with the detailed wood cuts that form so nicely around the posts.

Read on to see other uses for urbanite. Continued

Normals is one of Baltimore’s oldest and well respected and collectively run used music and bookstores. You could spend hours locked between the stacks. It’s like an archaeological dig, you never know what you’ll find. Although, if you do need something specific they’ll know where to find it. Check out the Redroom, the adjoining music venue, for some of the best in experimental and improv music.