While growing up whenever our family received a package we would store the cardboard boxes in the attic. Throughout the years those boxes were used and reused and reused- moving in and out of college and apartments, sending packages to others, carting things across town… I am pleased to state that a box handled by the Redmond family usually had a pretty long life span. It was interesting when years went by and we didn’t use many boxes, in this case we accrued an overwhelming stockpile of them. This, if nothing else, was a way for us to monitor our consumption and the items that came in and out of our door. This is a perfect example of how reuse is not only environmentally superior to recycling but its easier, it saves time, and it’s cheaper. Why go out to buy a box when we had ones of all shapes and sizes in storage?

Recycling requires additional energy consuming steps to transform a product into something new that reuse escapes. A new service based out of southern California called usedcardboardboxes.com (the title quite simply speaks for itself) has embraced the concept of reuse and is escaping the steps involved in recycling cardboard to Asia by sending them straight to your front door.

Founder Marty Metro piloted usedcardboardboxes.com as a neighborhood project four years ago. The company rescues quality used, new overrun and misprinted boxes from manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. With the ability to lower the cost, ensure quality, and promote environmental responsibility, Metro is achieving traction in family, wholesale and retail markets. Since the company motivation is so simple and the service doesn’t require any additional work from the recipient, it is a clear way for retail and wholesale markets to boost their environmental profile while saving some trees and consuming less.

The website allows individuals who are planning a move… to purchase kits online based on their needs. The moving kits include tape, markers, and packing materials to minimize trips to the store (yet one can opt to not receive these materials if one does not need them). Beyond household supply, usedcardboardboxes.com fills orders of 3000 boxes+ for companies like Guess Jeans, American Apparel, and FAO Schwartz.

After four years of private/personal financing, usedcardboardboxes.com received is first public investment/funding from Funk Ventures, a Santa Monica based venture capitol firm that funds “highly promising companies that can significantly impact people, society, or the environment in a positive way.” As the company rapidly grows, Metro plans to expand by establishing distribution centers nationwide. Currently they have the ability to serve 42 million households in the west, but with a new financing plan, they expect to provide service to cities including Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New Orleans.

Usedcardboardboxes.com was a top-ten nominee for Co-op America’s 2007 Peoples Choice Awards. They have received quite astounding press reviews and in my opinion it s because of the profoundly simple benefit. There is no trade-off involved here. Why use a new box when you can reuse an old one? The answer is simply- I don’t know; I guess I’d rather save a tree and the energy than kill one.

Gaining green credentials is of utmost importance to those in the consumer electronics industry. As the demand rises, each company is developing their own labeling system to tote their own personalized green flag. But with so many sets of criteria how do we evaluate the concentration of the green credentials solution?

Philips Electronics recently announced a new consumer product label that will mark simply that the electronic is more environmentally friendly and healthier for the consumer. Titled the “Green Tick”, this label will aid Philips consumers in making decisions about competitive products. Included in the eco-friendly evaluation, the products must meet certain energy efficiency requirements, and use healthier, more environmentally gentle materials in everything from production of the electronics to the packaging. The motivation is to enlighten consumer awareness and to differentiate Phillips products from others. Awarded by external auditors, Green Tick products will be added to the list of Green Flagship products.

It is now becoming easier for Phillips consumers to actively make eco-conscious choices about different products within the company portfolio, but it stops there. The missing link right now is that there is not a tool to leverage the criteria of the Green Tick against that of say Energy Star. When the Green Tick only applies to Phillips products, it becomes difficult for the consumer to make educated decisions about competitive products- how do choose between a “Green Tick” labeled HD TV and an “Energy Star’ rated HD TV? On a seemingly similar note, Sharp
just received an eco-friendly label for their TV’s as well. Boasting
40 EU eco-label awards and additional international energy-efficiency
awards, Sharp was able to achieve so many pillars or environmental wealth because they chose a more common label for
their products- the EU Flower. When the criteria and motivation for these labels are essentially the
same, why compete within the market with private eco-label branding? It is hard to say, but the next step is to get educated and look for labels that are applied to more consumer markets.

Some good news is that many recent European discussions between manufacturers and PR departments have concluded in agreeing to promote green-labeled products and educate with more extensive media coverage throughout the remainder of this year. Hopefully this will result in consumer demand for consistency, and thus an understanding of eco-label activity.

More good news on the horizon is a new widespread European Union Eco-label, the Flower. Taken from the EUROPA Eco-label homepage:

"It is a voluntary scheme designed to encourage businesses to market products and services that are kinder to the environment and for European consumers - including public and private purchasers - to easily identify them. You can find the Flower throughout the European Union as well as in Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. The European Eco-label is part of a broader strategy aimed at promoting sustainable consumption and production."

Everything from tourism to detergents, business owners and companies can now compete within the green market. With this tool, green attributes pertaining to these private companies, businesses, and practices…may be more easily compared by consumers.