Is Your Sustainable Materials Promotion Really Green?

There's little doubt that ecologically-friendly consumerism is going to be one of the biggest stories of 2008. With a social environment being primed by near-daily news headlines on environmental issues, the release of major documentaries like Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth and celebrity endorsements on the rise, being ecologically conscious has never been so popular.

Of course, with the prospect of cashing in on "green profits," manufacturers are responding enthusiastically to the changing social climate by producing an increasingly wide variety of "socially responsible" products to meet consumer demand. Product after product tout ecological buzz words like "organic," "sustainable development," biodegradable" and so on. It almost seems like we are on the cusp of a major industry change when being socially responsible is the norm, so why are some environmentalists bemoaning these seemingly progressive developments?

The problem, according to Linda Greer of the Natural Resources Defense Council, is that without independent certification and oversight of a product's entire supply chain, there is no way to ensure that there are no breakdowns in sustainable practices at some point during production. For example, while the organic cotton in your t-shirt might have been grown without pesticides and chemicals, such contaminants may still find their way in during processing.

This is not to say that all products claiming to ecologically friendly are a sham. The sustainable materials promotional product you might be thinking of buying is still "greener" than the alternatives -- there just might be a few hidden surprises for the unwary. If being guilt free about your purchases is important to you, getting that peace of mind will involve the additional work of checking up on the manufacturer's supply chain.

All reliable suppliers of ecological promotional products should have documentation of their manufacturing process to back up their "green" claims. Just don't stress yourself out looking for something that may not exist. As Siel from the LA Times said, there's probably no such thing as a perfectly green product.